HSM5
by ZefronsAngel
Summary: A sequel to HSM4. Everyone is in college and Troy and Gabriella are preparing for their wedding over Christmas break. As they didn't expect, college is a bit of a problem. TROYELLA!
1. College

"Hey, Wildcat! Wake up!" Gabriella said. "The alarm went off; we have to get ready for college!"

It was two months into the college year, the end of October to be exact. Troy and Gabriella had started renting

an apartment in between their colleges so they would be able to live together. Especially with their wedding

coming up the end of December, they would want to have a house to live in.

"Five more minutes, Gabby," Troy groaned. He hated getting up in the mornings.

"Come on, Wildcat," Gabriella said. "I have to get up, too and I can't with you holding me this close to you."

"You don't want me to hug you anymore, Gabs?" Troy asked.

"I do," Gabriella said, snuggling against him. "Oh, no, I'm getting too comfy now. This is why you need to get

up! If you don't, then it makes me want to stay in bed with you."

"I don't feel good," Troy said.

"What's wrong?" asked Gabriella affectionately, kissing his cheek and brushing the bangs out of his face so she

could see if his forehead felt warm by gently kissing it. "It doesn't feel like you're sick."

"I'm tired."

"If that's all then you need to get up."

"I don't want to. I'm too tired."

"Wildcat, what's wrong? Is college too hard?" asked Gabriella, gently placing her head on his chest and looking

up into his eyes.

"It's just that for this play we're doing the directors want me to kiss this girl, and I don't want to. I wish it was

you. I can't let myself kiss anyone else. Other girls' lips are disgusting."

"Troy, do you want me to write a note that says that your fiancé doesn't want you to kiss strange girls?" she

asked.

"Really?" asked Troy.

"Do you think I want my lips somewhere disgusting lips were?" she asked.

"No," Troy said.

"Alright then. I'll write a note."

"Thanks baby girl."

"You're welcome." Gabriella sat up, grabbed a piece of paper from the end table next to their bed and wrote:

_This is Troy Bolton's fiancé Gabriella Montez. I would not be happy if Troy kissed another girl and neither_

_would he because we love each other and we want to keep our lips to ourselves. There is no reason why Troy_

_should have to kiss strangers. _

_Gabriella Montez_

"Here," Gabriella said, handing the note to Troy.

"Thanks," Troy said, kissing her cheek affectionately. "Love you."

"Love you, too."

Troy and Gabriella both got ready, kissed each other good-bye, then got into their cars. Troy had bought

Gabriella her own car so she would be able to drive to college.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

That evening, Troy and Gabriella were both sitting down on their sofa cuddling. "So, how was college today?

Did they say you didn't have to kiss that girl?" asked Gabriella.

"Yes, I got out of it," Troy said. "Though the directors were surprised that I'm gonna be nineteen in a week and

I'm already getting married in December."

"It's not that surprising," Gabriella said.

"I know, but these are people who haven't seen us date and watch how we started to look at each other like we

were in love."

"That's true," Gabriella said. "But I can believe that we are engaged."

"Yeah, so can I. Are you excited to marry me?"

Gabriella hugged him and replied, "Yes."

Troy hugged her back. "Love you, too."

"So, do you like basketball or theater better?"

"Theater-but only when I'm not asked to kiss strange girls."

"Is the girl nice?"

"She's kind of bratty. Reminds me of Tiara. Her name's Nicole Admund. She has a crush on me."

"I thought we moved away from this problem."

"I guess we didn't."

"Well I guess it's not your fault you're adorable."

"Aw, you think I'm adorable, Gabby?"

"Yes," Gabriella said.

"You're adorabler," Troy said.

"I don't think that's a word," Gabriella said.

"It is now."

"I wonder if Tiara's still with Jimmy."

"I hope so. The last thing we need is another girl coming here and trying to date you. Then next thing you

know, Sharpay and Zeke break up and Sharpay likes you again. Then you'll have a fan club."

"I don't want a fan club," Troy said.

"Do you want me?"

"Yes." Troy pulled her close to him.

Gabriella smiled. "Are you excited to marry me?"

"Yes," Troy said, kissing her nose. "I love you more than anything."

Gabriella snuggled into him. "I remember when we didn't want to ever graduate high school. But now I see that

there's better things that come when you're finished."

"I remember, too. I remember that time sitting in my tree house talking during the championship party."

_Flashback_

_Troy and Gabriella were sitting down in Troy's tree house during the party. "I wish everything would just slow_

_down to a stop," Gabriella said, resting her head on Troy's shoulder and closing her brown eyes. She was tired _

_from watching the basketball game and then being at the party for a while._

_Troy looked at his tired girlfriend and began singing:_

_Can you imagine_

_What would happen_

_If we could have any dream_

_I wish this moment_

_Was ours to own it_

_And that it would never leave_

_Gabriella lifted her head off Troy's shoulder and started singing with him:_

_Then I would thank that star_

_That made our wish come true_

_Then they both sang:_

_Cuz he knows that where we are_

_Is where I should be too_

_Right here Right now_

_I'm looking at you_

_And my heart loves the view_

_Cuz you mean everything_

_Right here_

_I'll promise you somehow_

_That tomorrow can wait_

_For some other day to be_

_But right now_

_There's you and me_

_If this was forever_

_What could be better_

_We already proved it was_

_But in 2123_

_Hours abandon the universe_

_Gonna make you everything_

_In our whole world change_

_And you know that where we are_

_Will never be the same_

_Right here Right now_

_I'm looking at you_

_And my heart loves the view_

_Cuz you mean everything_

_Right here_

_I'll promise you somehow_

_That tomorrow can wait_

_For some other day to be_

_But right now_

_There's you and me_

_Oh we know it's coming_

_And it's coming fast_

_So let's make this second last_

_Make it last_

_Right here Right now_

_I'm looking at you_

_And my heart loves the view_

_Cuz you mean everything_

_Right here_

_I'll promise you somehow_

_That tomorrow can wait_

_For some other day to be_

_But right now_

_There's you and me_

_Right here_

_ I'll promise you somehow_

_That tomorrow can wait_

_For some other day to be_

_But right now_

_There's you and me._

_Gabriella stood in front of Troy as he wrapped his arms around her and bent down to gently kiss her _

_head._

Flashback over

"Yeah, I remember that so clearly," Gabriella said, looking at Troy.

"Me, too. And then I remember that you decided you wanted to play with my toy robot from when I

was little." Troy tapped her nose gently.

"I wanted to have fun," Gabriella said. "And make it feel like kindergarten."

"Does it feel like kindergarten now?"

"No. I'm in love. I feel like I'm my age, though some people think we're too young to get married."

"I think it's okay. I mean, we basically are. We live together now."

"Yeah, but we don't have a license or anything."

"That reminds me; we've gotta get one of those," Troy said. "Before our wedding."

"I love you."

"I love you, too, Gabby."

Then they kissed. Troy gently gave Gabriella love-bites and Gabriella affectionately licked Troy's lips.

"That feels so good," Troy said as best he could as he felt Gabriella's tongue on his lips.

Gabriella kept doing it. Troy gave her one last love bite before they pulled away into an affectionate

embrace, not saying anything until about ten minutes later.

"Troy, what time is it?" Gabriella asked.

Troy looked at the clock. "Nine-thirty. Are you tired?"

"A little," Gabriella said.

"How about we start getting ready for bed," Troy suggested. "Anyway, we have college tomorrow."

"Okay." Gabriella reluctantly squirmed out of Troy's arms.

"Don't you want me to hold you?" asked Troy.

Gabriella instantly threw herself back in his arms and let him lift her up so her head was resting on his

shoulder. "Am I heavy, Wildcat?"

"No, baby girl," Troy said. "You're really light."

"You're strong," Gabriella said.

"And I'm glad I am. I like holding you so much."

"I like being held," Gabriella said, smiling and closing her eyes.

Troy gently stroked her dark hair and pressed a few kisses onto her cheeks. "I love you so much. I

don't think I'd be happier with anyone else in the world."

"Why did you pick me when you had the choice of thousands of girls from all over the world?"

"Because you're special. And when we met, I knew you were right for me."

"We met in a way that it would have been easy for us not to even meet. It was a really slim chance that

we were both picked to sing karaoke."

"I know. And I didn't even want to go on that vacation with my parents."

"I didn't want to go, either. Then I didn't want to switch schools, but I did, and I'm happy."

"So am I." Troy began walking into their bedroom.

"What happened if I didn't transfer to East High?"

"Gabby, you gave me your phone number. I would've found out where you lived and walked all the

way there just to see you again."

"Really?"

"Hey, it's not every day nerds are adorable affectionate girls."

"Troy, I am not a nerd."

"You were then. Not now."

"I was weird then."

"No you weren't. We're just 'us' now. It isn't weird. It just means it isn't Gabriella the Scholastic

Decathlon girl and Troy the Wildcats champion anymore. It's just us now. Just Gabriella and Troy.

Forever." Troy put Gabriella down on their bed and kissed her cheek. "Now do you want to use the bath-

room first to brush your teeth or can I?"

"We can both use it," Gabriella said.

"Okay," Troy agreed.

Gabriella looked at Troy with pleading eyes and held out her arms.

"What do you want, honey?" Troy asked.

"Can you hold me?" Gabriella asked.

Troy lifted her up again and sat her on his lap. "Gabby, we can't have any kids."

"Why?"

"Because I have to take care of you."

"Troy, after we're married I would like to have some little Wildcats. We'll be moving back to New

Mexico, so they will definitly be Wildcats."

"Will they be your Wildcats?"

"Troy, you know no one could ever replace you. You'll always be my most precious Wildcat."

"Thanks, Gabby."

Troy stood up still holding Gabriella. He walked into the bathroom, put her down gently, and started

brushing his teeth. Gabriella did the same as him, then they finished getting ready for bed and snuggled

up under their warm covers and talked again.

"Troy, if we ever have a boy, I'm going to be name him after you."

"And if we ever have a girl, then she'll be named after you."

"And if we don't have any kids, then we'll have each other."

"Of course, my love," Troy said, reaching over to turn out the light and wrapping Gabriella up in his

arms. "And I'll be happy to be your Wildcat until I die."

"Troy, even after we die, you'll still be my Wildcat. You'll be my Wildcat forever."

"I love you."

"Love you, too," Gabriella said.

They pressed their lips together and passionately kissed. "Goodnight," Troy said, pulling Gabriella

closer to his side.

"Goodnight," Gabriella said, snuggling against him and closing her eyes.

Then Troy closed his eyes and pulled Gabriella even closer. Gabriella smiled and snuggled further into

him. The nights were really cold now that it was going to be winter in a couple months, so every night

Troy and Gabriella would snuggle as close as they could. It saved them money because they used each

other to keep warm more than the heaters in their house. They liked being clingy anyway, so it was a way

they showed their deep affection for each other, too. As they slowly drifted off to sleep, they smiled at

the thought of getting married soon and having little Wildcats. They were so happy they went to that

party, so happy that Gabriella had started going to East High, and so happy they loved each other.

__________________________________________________________________________________

While Troy and Gabriella slept soundly and comfortably, back in New Mexico, Tiara and Jimmy were

out on a date. They had managed to stay a boyfriend and girlfriend for as long as they did and they were

both happy about it. Tiara had become nicer and Jimmy had become less obsessed with basketball and

all that stuff. But now Troy and Gabriella had a different problem. Nicole Admund. St her house, Nicole

was thinking of a way to make sure Troy _had _to kiss her in the play. No matter what it took. She liked

Troy and she wanted him to herself. When she had found out he had a fiancé, she was horrified.

_Flashback_

_Nicole was sitting in a chair waiting for everyone else to come into the room. Troy came in and _

_handed one of the directors Gabriella's note. The director read it out loud:_

_This is Troy Bolton's fiancé Gabriella Montez. I would not be happy if Troy kissed another girl and neither_

_would he because we love each other and we want to keep our lips to ourselves. There is no reason why Troy_

_should have to kiss strangers. _

_Gabriella Montez_

_"Troy, you don't have to kiss Nicole if you don't want to. But I am surprised you are engaged at such a young_

_age," the director said as he finished reading the note._

_"Yeah, I'm marrying my high school girlfriend. We love each other," Troy said._

_Meanwhile, Nicole's mouth had opened wide in shock. Her blue eyes grew bigger and she stiffened up in her_

_chair. As Troy looked her way, she quickly tried to act natural by playing with her blonde highlighted shoulder-_

_length curly hair and tossing her bangs out of her face. When Troy sat behind her, she turned around and looked_

_at him with a flirty smile. "Hi Troy," she giggled._

_"Uh, hi...." Troy said unenthusiastically. _

_"You're really cute."_

_Troy looked at her with a leave-me-alone-I'm-engaged-to-my-Gabby look and rolled his blue eyes. The class _

_then started, but that didn't stop Nicole from thinking of ways to get Troy. _

Flashback over

"_I'm gonna get Troy," _she thought. "_If it's the only thing_ _I do at college."_

Return to Top


	2. Kidnapped

"Wildcat?" Gabriella asked. They had been cuddling on the sofa and Troy had fallen asleep with his arms

wrapped around Gabriella's waist. "Wildcat?" She slowly reached one of her hands up to touch his cheek, then she

leaned up to softly kiss his lips. "Wildcat. I need you to wake up so we can go to sleep in our bed."

Troy's blue eyes slowly opened halfway. "What, baby girl?" he asked sleepily, pulling her close to his side.

"Can we go sleep in our room so I can sleep, too?" asked Gabriella.

"Okay." Troy took his arms away from Gabriella's waist and stood up, taking her hands in his to help her up be-

fore lifting her into his arms. "You're my baby," he said, kissing her cheek affectionately.

Gabriella closed her eyes and smiled. "You're my Wildcat," she said, sounding tired.

By the time Troy went into their room still holding her, she was fast asleep. He tucked her in bed, covered her

face with kisses, then climbed in next to her and snuggled up to her. He turned out the light, then got comfortable

by pulling some blankets over him and wrapping Gabriella in his arms from behind, making sure to be gentle as to

not to wake her up.

Gabriella stirred a little bit, but didn't wake up. Instead, she rolled over so she was facing Troy, buried her face in

his chest, and hugged him back.

"I love you, Gabby," Troy whispered, gently stroking her hair. "Good night."

Gabriella opened her eyes a little. "Love you, too," she mumbled. But Troy could tell what she had said.

"You get some rest now, okay? You're my baby girl."

Gabriella nodded and snuggled further into him.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

The next morning, Troy and Gabriella woke up and got ready, ate breakfast, kissed each other good-bye, then

drove off to college. As soon as Gabriella stepped out of her car, a boy with medium-brown hair and brown eyes

walked up to her. "Hi, Gabriella," he said.

Gabriella stopped and looked at the boy in shock. It was a boy who she had went on one date with at the school

she went to before East High. His name was Allen Dently. She had ended up hating him because he didn't respect

her shyness. On their date, he wanted her to kiss him. When she shyly said she didn't feel comfortable kissing him

yet, he had tried to force her to. Gabriella had made up an excuse so she could go home. When she went on

Christmas break, she had forgotten about him, especially after meeting Troy, but now she remembered him. "Um,

hi.....um....." She pretended not to know his name.

"Allen. Remember? You don't remember your boyfriend. Wow." he replied.

"Oh......hi.....Allen." Gabriella said.

"Are you ready to kiss me now?" Allen asked, going close to her and bending down towards her face.

"No, no, no!" Gabriella exclaimed in a terrified voice.

"Come on," Allen said.

"No, I'm engaged!" Gabriella said loudly, almost shouting.

"To who?"

"None of your business."

"Well then I'll just take you to my apartment and see if you'll tell me then." Allen grabbed Gabriella's wrist

painfully and dragged her to his car. He shoved her in the back, got in the driver's seat, locked the doors, and started

driving away.

Tears began to run down Gabriella's cheeks._ What if he hurts me? What if he makes me kiss him? What if I can _

_never see Troy again?_ She started crying harder. She didn't think she could live without Troy by her side after every-

thing they'd been through together.

"You shut up," Allen shouted rudely. "I don't want to hear you crying."

Gabriella wiped her tears off her face, but more fell. "I want Troy," she whispered to herself. She got out her cell

phone and quickly typed in a text message that said, 'troy i need u now im bein kidnapped by a guy I dated once

before I met u when I get to his house ill tell u the address. luv u xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo gabby She hit send.

"We're here," Allen said in a rude and nasty tone. He got out of the car, slammed the door shut behind him,

opened the back door, pulled Gabriella out, and shut the door. He shoved her through the door of his house, but not

before Gabriella saw the house number. "I'll be back. Stay here," Allen ordered, locking her in his house.

Gabriella pulled out her phone and texted Troy again. She wrote, 'the address is 15 bride road apt 4 plz come i

need u luv you xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo ik thats a lot of hugs & kisses gabby

___________________________________________________________________________________________

At college, Troy had heard his phone ring twice. He took it out of his pocket and read Gabriella's messages. "I

have to go. My fiancé just got kidnapped," he told his basketball coach with a worried expression on his face. As

he ran out to his car, a tear fell down his cheek for the first time in so long. What if he would never get Gabriella

back? What if she was being beaten? He hurried into his car and began driving as fast as the speed limit allowed to

the address Gabriella had texted to him. He ran out of the car, picked the lock on the door with a pencil and a paper

clip, and hurried inside. He saw Gabriella with tears streaming down her face.

Gabriella looked up from where she was sitting and saw Troy. She ran over to him and wrapped her arms around

his waist. "Troy," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "I thought I would never see you again."

Troy hugged her back. "I'm here," he told her, bending down to kiss her head. His hands gently stroked her hair.

"Let's get out of here," he said.

"I-I'm not l-letting g-go of y-you," Gabriella said, clearly still terrified.

Troy lifted her up and carried her to his car. He put her in the passenger seat, then climbed into the driver's seat.

Gabriella grabbed his hand and wouldn't let go.

"Honey, I have to drive," Troy said, kissing her cheek. He started the car and backed out of the parking lot.

"I'm not letting go," Gabriella said. "I'm so scared."

"Then lean against me," Troy said.

Gabriella let go of his hand and leaned against him. Once he pulled into the driveway of their house, she stopped,

grabbed his hand again, and let him pick her up and carry her inside. Once inside, Troy sat down with her on the

sofa and pulled her close to him. "We're gonna have to call the police," he said, stroking her hair. "But first tell me

what happened exactly."

Gabriella hugged Troy and began explaining. "Well, this guy named Allen Dently wanted to date me in school.

It was before I met you and before I even went to East High. I said yes reluctantly after he kept bugging me. He

tried to force me to kiss him on our date, and I said I wasn't comfortable kissing him, then made up an excuse to

leave. When I met you, I forgot about him. I didn't even see him at college until today. I got out of my car and he

came up to me and said, 'Hi Gabriella.' I knew exactly who he was, but I pretended not to. Then he said 'I'm Allen.

Remember? You don't remember your own boyfriend. Wow.' Then he asked me to kiss him and I said no, and told

him I was engaged. He asked who I was engaged to, and I said, 'It's none of your business.' Then she grabbed my

wrist really hard and forced me to go in his car. He locked me in, and started driving off. I started crying and then he

said, 'Shut up, I don't want to hear you crying.' Then I texted you. When he came to his apartment, he dragged me

inside, told me he would be right back, and locked me in. I texted you again, then he came back in, hit my arm, and

tried to make me kiss him again. I kept refusing. Then he said 'I'll be right back.' He went into the bathroom and then

you came."

"Oh, my poor baby," Troy said, pulling Gabriella close to him. "My poor baby." He kissed her head. "You didn't

deserve that, honey."

"Troy, I never want to leave your side," Gabriella said, hugging him tighter. "Until Allen in arrested."

"Okay," Troy said. "Tomorrow you can come to college with me. I'll just say that you need to be with me because

you were kidnapped and you're scared."

"Okay," Gabriella said. "I love you."

"Love you, too, Wildcat."

"I'll call the police now," Troy said, taking one arm away from Gabriella to reach for his cell phone. He dialed the

number. When someone answered, he told them everything that had happened. The policeman said he would go find

Allen immediately. Troy thanked him, then hung up. "He's gonna be arrested, my love," Troy gently reassured his

fiancé.

"Troy, I'll always love you."

"I'll love you always, too, baby girl."

For a long time, they just sat like that in each others arms, Gabriella feeling comforted. Finally Troy broke the

silence. "Honey, baby girl, Gabby," he said, beginning to call Gabriella a few of the nicknames he used for her. "Do

you want to get something to eat?"

"I want to be with you," Gabriella answered.

"I'll carry you over to the kitchen, we can get something to eat, then you can sit on my lap again while we eat."

"Okay," Gabriella said, moving her arms from Troy's waist to around his neck as he lifted her into his strong arms

and carried her into the kitchen. Taking one arm away from her, he grabbed a bag of chips off the counter, then went

back into the living room to sit down with Gabriella in his lap.

"So does your arm hurt bad?" asked Troy.

"A little," Gabriella said leaning back into Troy and closing her eyes.

"Oh baby girl," Troy said. "I love you so very much. Let me see."

Gabriella rolled up her sleeve and showed him her arm where there was a small bruise. "I guess I'll be okay,

though," she said.

"I'm so sorry that had to happen to you, honey," Troy said, kissing her cheek. He opened the bag of chips and

took one out. "Want it?" he asked Gabriella.

Gabriella shook her head no. "I want you," she said, turning around to face him before clinging to him. "I need

you to keep me safe, Wildcat."

Troy are the chip, then kissed Gabriella's head. "I really love you." He put one arm around her and continued

eating with the other. "I love you so much."

"Love you, too. And thanks for loving me," Gabriella said. "I don't know what I'd do if you weren't there for me."

"I'll always be here for you," Troy said.

"Wildcat, did I get you in trouble at college?"

"Well I was in basketball class. I just told my coach you got kidnapped and ran out the door."

"I'm so sorry if I got you in trouble."

"It's okay. I love you too much to care."

"Can you tell me what time it is, Wildcat?" Gabriella asked.

Troy looked at the clock. "Five-thirty," he told her.

"Okay."

They both just sat there for a while since Gabriella didn't want to leave Troy's arms. They would alternate

between talking and cuddling or just cuddling. Around nine o' clock, Gabriella asked Troy if they could go to bed.

"Yes," Troy said. He stood up, still holding her, carried her into their room, took one arm away from her, pulled

the covers back, and slowly got under. Gabriella then slid out of his warm arms, snuggled into his chest, and let

his arms wrap around her again. "Good night, baby girl," Troy said.

"Wildcat, can I have kisses?" Gabriella asked, lifting her head from Troy's chest.

"Okay," Troy said, bending down to kiss her. Their lips passionately and affectionately touched. Troy carefully

licked Gabriella's soft lips. Gabriella opened her mouth a little so Troy could slip his tongue inside and lick hers

gently. Gabriella gave Troy gentle love-bites on his bottom lip. Finally, they couldn't breathe anymore, so they broke

apart.

"That felt good. Thanks," Gabriella said.

Troy kissed her nose. "Gabby, I love you more and more every day."

"Love you more and more every day, too," Gabriella said.

"Listen, baby girl," Troy said to Gabriella, "I'll always protect you."

"I'll always protect you, too, as best as I can," Gabriella said.

"And just to let you know, I would die if it meant I were saving you."

"I would do the same. But if it ever happens, we'll have to die to save each other because I would be heartbroken

if you died." At the thought of Troy not being with her anymore, Gabriella began crying.

"Oh, baby girl, I won't die anytime soon. You're stuck with me for a long time," Troy said, pressing a kiss onto

her cheek, then using his thumb to wipe away her tears.

"I'm glad," Gabriella said.

Troy reached over his fiancé and switched off the light. "Well good night, baby girl. Love you."

"Love you, too," Gabriella replied, snuggling into him as far as she could.

"You okay?" Troy stroked her hair gently.

Gabriella nodded. "I might have bad dreams tonight, though."

"And if you do, I'll comfort you."

Gabriella smiled up at Troy before closing her eyes and trying to get some rest. Troy smiled back at her, hugged

her tightly, and rested his head on top of hers. Then they both drifted off into a deep sleep.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Around three in the morning, Gabriella woke up because of a nightmare. She gently shook Troy awake. "Troy, I

need you. I'm scared," she said.

"What's wrong, baby?" asked Troy sleepily.

"I had a bad dream. I had a dream that Allen broke into our house and took me and we never saw each other

again." She wiped a tear from her watery eye.

"Aw, my poor love," Troy said, kissing her cheek. "Do you want me to make it all better?"

Gabriella nodded.

Troy bent down to kiss her on the lips. Gabriella kissed back. When they pulled apart, Gabriella said, "It's all

better now, Wildcat. Thanks."

Troy nuzzled her cheek softly and kissed it. "Okay. Try to go back to sleep. I'll be here holding you all night. If

you need to wake me up again to talk to me or to get kisses, just wake me up. I always will be here for you."

"Thanks, Wildcat. You're so sweet."

"Love you, too. Now do you want one more kiss before we close our eyes again?"

Gabriella nodded and they kissed once again. Then, they went back to sleep and Gabriella slept soundly the rest

of the night.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

The next morning, Gabriella made Troy come with her while she got ready and asked him if she could stay with

him while he got ready. He said yes of course. So after they were ready, they went downstairs and got breakfast.

"So, Taylor and Chad are coming this weekend, right?" asked Gabriella.

Troy nodded. "Taylor's leaving on her flight Friday after her college is done for the day. Chad is driving up here

Friday evening since he's only at U of A."

"It'll be nice to see them again," Gabriella commented.

"I know," Troy agreed.

Once they were done, they cleaned up their stuff and left in Troy's car for college. When they got there, Gabriella

held Troy's hand as they walked inside. Troy explained what had happened, and both his basketball coach and the

theater directors said it was okay for Gabriella to be with him for the day.

"Troy, can I sit on your lap?" asked Gabriella. Troy was in his drama class.

Troy nodded and lifted her onto him, kissing her cheek. Just then, he saw Nicole coming. "Hi, Tr-" she began,

stopping when she saw Gabriella with her arms around Troy. "So you do really have a fiancé? It wasn't just a made

up thing?"

"No I didn't make it up!" Troy exclaimed.

"Well I guess it's useless trying to get you to date me. Anyway, I like someone else now," Nicole said.

"Well that was easier than Tiara," Troy whispered in Gabriella's ear.

Gabriella nodded in agreement. "Way easier."


	3. Chad and Taylor Visit

"How did you like my college?" asked Troy as he drove home from college with Gabriella next to him.

"I liked it," Gabriella said. "It seems fun."

"I think I had the most fun today because you were with me," Troy said.

"Well once Allen is in jail I'll go back to Stanford," Gabriella said. "Anyway, I don't really play basketball, so

it wouldn't work out that much."

"Did you call your college and tell them why you weren't there?"

"No, I forgot," Gabriella said as Troy pulled into their driveway and stopped the car.

"Let's go inside, baby girl," Troy said.

Gabriella grabbed Troy's hand and they walked inside together. "I love you so much," Troy said, sitting down

on the sofa.

Gabriella sat on his lap so she was facing him and rested her head on his shoulder. "Love you, too," she said.

"So tomorrow Chad and Taylor will be here," Troy said.

"Troy, can I have kisses?" Gabriella asked, lifting her head to look up at him.

Troy nodded and pressed his lips against hers. Gabriella kissed him back. Once they were finished, Gabriella

leaned back against him.

________________________________________________________________________________________

"Gabby, Chad and Taylor will be here any minute," Troy said. "Let's go in the living room and wait."

Gabriella let Troy lift her up and hold her as he walked into the living room. She buried her head in his

shoulder as she felt him press kisses onto her cheeks. Just then, the doorbell rang. Troy, still holding his fiancé,

walked over to the door and opened it. "Hey Chad, Taylor," he said. He moved away from the door to let them

walk inside.

"Hey, what's up?" asked Chad, giving Troy a high five. "U of A is great!"

"Hi, Troy," Taylor greeted politely. "Is Gabriella okay?"

Troy looked at Gabriella. Her eyes were closed. "She's still sleepy," he said, gently stroking his fiancé's hair

and holding her a little more securely.

"Your house is awesome," Chad said, looking around.

"Honey, wake up," Troy said, gently shaking Gabriella.

Gabriella's brown eyes slowly opened and she saw Chad and Taylor. "Hi, Taylor. Hi, Chad," she said.

"Hi, Gabriella," Taylor and Chad both said.

"Hey, Troy, will you have time to hang out with me at all?" asked Chad.

"Yeah, why?" asked Troy, grabbing a bottle of water and tossing it to Chad. "Here's some water. Thought you

might want some."

"Thanks," Chad said, catching the water bottle. "I was just asking because it seems like you and Gabriella

can't be separated."

"Well Gabby's been through a lot," Troy said, hugging Gabriella closer to him. She was still comfortably

cuddled up in his arms.

"What happened?" asked Taylor, looking concerned that one of her best friends wasn't doing that great.

Troy sat down on the sofa and loosened his grip on Gabriella so she could sit in his lap. Taylor and Chad sat

down on the other two cushions. "Well, Gabby will have to tell you." He stroked Gabriella's hair affectionately

and pressed a kiss on her head.

"What happened?" asked Taylor.

Gabriella lifted her head up and replaced it on Troy's chest so she could look at Taylor while she was talking.

"I got kidnapped," she said.

"Oh my gosh, that's so serious!" Taylor exclaimed.

"Wow, that's kind of odd," Chad said. "Usually people want to kidnap little kids. You know, they'll say 'Come

here and I'll give you a candy bar.' Then the kid is all excited and starts running to the car yelling 'Candy, candy!'"

"How did it happen?" asked Taylor.

Gabriella told Taylor and Chad the story about her being kidnapped, clinging tighter to Troy as she saw the

frightening images flash through her memory. Troy kissed her head softly and stroked her hair.

"That is so horrible!" Taylor said. "It's a good thing you didn't go on more than one date with this Allen guy."

"I know," Gabriella said.

"That's why Gabby wants to be with me all the time now," Troy explained. "She feels safer if I'm holding her

in my arms."

"How in the world are you gonna play basketball?" asked Chad.

"Well if Gabby agrees, she can sit down next to Taylor and watch us play," Troy said.

"Oh, ok," Chad said. "Let's go."

"Hey, hey, hey, wait, wait, wait, Chad. It's still morning," Troy said.

Gabriella snuggled into Troy. "Yeah, go have fun, Wildcat," she said.

"But I can tell you want to be with me," Troy whispered into Gabriella's ear. "You're snuggling further into

me."

"I just want to get comfy, that's all," Gabriella told Troy.

"Okay," Troy said, kissing her head. "But if you want me to stay here and hold you close to me today, I'll be

more than happy to."

"I think I'll be okay watching you play basketball today," Gabriella said. She smiled up at him.

"Okay, baby girl. Love you," Troy said.

Gabriella put her head on Troy's shoulder. "Love you, too." She kissed his cheek.

"Can we do something other than watch you and Gabriella sit there?" asked Chad in an annoyed voice.

"Okay....I guess.....," Troy said slowly.

Gabriella hugged Troy. "I'm not letting go," she said.

"You never have to," Troy told her, kissing her nose and returning her hug.

"Well can you tell me how college is going?" asked Chad.

"Fine. At first some girl wanted a date with me, but once I proved I had a fiancé, she was fine with it. It went

so much better than the Tiara thing. That was just ridiculous," Troy said.

"I know," Chad said.

Taylor agreed. "It took like the whole summer for you to get rid of her."

Gabriella lifted her head from Troy's shoulder. "Taylor, how's college for you?"

"Okay, I guess," Taylor said. "It's harder than I thought it would be, but it'll be worth it in the end."

"Yeah, college is a little harder than I thought it would be. I thought it would be similar to high school,"

Gabriella said, "But only with more information."

"College is easy for me!" Chad said. "All I have to do is play basketball."

"I know," Taylor said. "And that's all you talk to me about. Why can't you be more like Troy?"

"What do you mean?" asked Chad.

"Troy cares about more than basketball. Chad, we haven't talked about anything but basketball for like two

weeks."

"Yes we have! We talked about going to Troy's house."

"Yes, and you were talking about playing basketball with Troy at his house."

"Well what do you want me to do?" asked Chad. "I'm a Wildcat. It's natural for me to want to talk about

basketball all the time."

"Well I have a fiancé to take care of," Troy said. "I can't only worry about basketball."

"Yeah, because you can't play it with a girl hanging on you."

"Gabby doesn't hang on me," Troy said. "She just likes to sit on my lap."

"I think it's comfy," Gabriella said.

"Troy, you know we're like brothers, but right now, I don't know you."

"Chad, stop it. Be nice," Taylor told Chad. "Or I'll make you go home."

"I'm not being mean," Chad said.

"Well then just stop what you're doing," Taylor said.

"Fine," said Chad.

"And Chad, it wouldn't hurt you to be a bit more like Troy," Taylor said.

"I'm not letting you sit on my lap," Chad said. "It sounds uncomfortable. And I'm not carrying you around

everywhere."

"I don't mean carry me around everywhere or let me sit on your lap," Taylor said.

"Can you two stop arguing?" Troy asked.

"Fine," Chad said, crossing his arms with an annoyed look on his face.

"Okay," Taylor said.

"Gabby baby, are you okay?" asked Troy, gently stroking Gabriella's hair. She had leaned back into him and

was now comfortably snuggled against his chest.

Gabriella nodded. "Still tired," she told Troy.

Troy kissed her nose. "Well can I put you down for a minute? I want to show Chad my new basketball I got."

Gabriella looked up at Troy with pleading eyes and the smile she knew Troy couldn't say no to. "I want to

come with you," she begged.

"Okay," Troy said, standing up with Gabriella in his arms. "We'll be back."

Five minutes later, Troy appeared again holding his basketball in one arm and Gabriella in the other.

"Troy, you are ridiculous. You're not a limo. PUT YOUR GIRLFRIEND DOWN!" Chad said.

"FIANCE!" Troy corrected.

"Well put her down!" Chad said. "Please? So we can play basketball?"

Troy handed Chad the basketball and put his arm around Gabriella, holding her more securely. "Will you be

okay watching?" he whispered in her ear.

Gabriella nodded and slowly loosened her tight grip on Troy, allowing herself to gradually slip out of his

arms.

While Troy played basketball with Chad, Taylor sat and watched with Gabriella. They talked a little and

Gabriella cheered for Troy and Taylor did for Chad. As soon as they were done, Gabriella wrapped her arms

around Troy. Troy pulled her close and kissed her nose. "Chad beat me," he said. "I can't believe it."

Gabriella laughed and snuggled against his chest. "You're sweating."

"Yeah," Troy said.

"Do you want any water?" Gabriella asked, reaching up a hand to push Troy's bangs out of his face so he

would be a little cooler. "Wildcat, your hair's soaked in sweat," she said.

"I know. I'm gonna need a shower when I get in," Troy said.

"Why?" asked Chad. Troy and Gabriella hadn't noticed that Chad and Taylor were still outside.

"Chad, I'm soaked in sweat," Troy said.

"So?" Chad questioned.

"You know, you act like a little boy sometimes," Troy said.

"Be quiet, Bolton," Chad said.

"Troy, can I come?" asked Gabriella, quiet enough for only Troy to hear.

"Come where?" asked Troy.

"In the bathroom with you," Gabriella said.

"Honey, we do this all the time. You don't even have to ask anymore," Troy said, kissing her head.

Gabriella grabbed Troy's hand and squeezed it lovingly.

"You can't be apart from me, can you, my love?" asked Troy.

Gabriella shook her head no. "I love you so much and I feel safer with you. I'm just kinda scared right now

that Allen will take me again."

"And that's okay," Troy said, kissing her head again. "I'll always be here for you. You know that."

Gabriella smiled. "Yeah, I know. Now let's go get a shower so you can get all cleaned up."

"Okay," Troy said. "Hey, Chad! Do whatever you want, just don't mess up anything or break anything! I'm

gonna go with Gabby to get a quick shower!" he yelled to Chad.

"I'll be back, too, Taylor!" Gabriella called.

"Okay!" Taylor called.

Troy and Gabriella went into the bathroom and Troy shut the door behind them. "Okay, Gabby," Troy said.

"We're gonna have to try to be quick or Chad will start yelling."

Gabriella laughed.

"We can have a longer shower or a bath when he leaves Sunday."

"Okay," Gabriella agreed.

Troy picked up Gabriella, put her down so she was sitting on the counter, and started undressing her. "I'll dry

you off, too," Troy told her. "And get you dressed again."

Gabriella did the same to Troy, then they quick took a shower, dried each other off while occasionally kissing,

and got their clothes back on. Then Troy picked up Gabriella and carried her into the living room.

"Dude, you took so long," Chad complained.

"Hey, Gabriella needs to wash up better than I do," Troy said.

Gabriella kissed Troy's cheek affectionately before snuggling into his chest and clasping his hand tightly.

"Can I have some water?" asked Taylor politely.

Gabriella nodded. Troy let her slip out of his arms for a minute so she could get the water and hand it to

Taylor. Then she quickly curled back up into his arms.

"So, Gabriella, do you know any good stores around here?" Taylor asked.

"Well there's a mall about ten minutes away from here. It's pretty good."

"Could we go?" Taylor asked.

"Troy, could you come?" Gabriella asked. "I just want you to be there in case Allen is there and tries to kidnap

me again."

Troy hugged Gabriella and kissed her cheek. "Love you."

"Love you, Wildcat," Gabriella said, flinging her arms around Troy's neck.

"And yes, I can come. Chad, sorry to say this but you have to come, too."

Chad groaned. "I hate malls," he muttered.

"Chad, we did not come here to complain," Taylor scolded.

"Well I didn't come here to hang out with Troyella," Chad said. "I came here to hang out with Troy."

"Chad, STOP COMPLAINING," Taylor said.

"Fine. Sorry, Troy, Gabriella," Chad said.

"It's okay," Troy and Gabriella both said.

________________________________________________________________________________________

An hour later, everyone was at the mall. Gabriella was holding Troy's hand tightly, which he didn't mind at all

because he liked having Gabriella's small hand in his fingers. "Taylor, did you want to go in anywhere specific?"

asked Gabriella.

"No, let's just look around," Taylor said.

After about half an hour, Gabriella and Taylor had both bought stuff and were now finished shopping. "This

mall is pretty good," Taylor said.

"If you count boring as good," Chad said.

"Be quiet, Chad," Taylor said.

Troy helped Gabriella into the passenger seat and then climbed into the drivers' seat. After Chad and Taylor

got in the backseat, he drove back home.

At home, Gabriella climbed into Troy's lap and got comfy while Chad and Taylor sat down on chairs. Troy

wrapped Gabriella up in his arms and kissed her nose. "Love you," he said.

"Love you, too," Gabriella told him.

"Is anyone hungry?" asked Troy.

"Starving," Chad said.

"A little," Taylor answered.

"I'll go order some pizza," Troy said. "Gabby, I'm gonna have to put you down for a minute."

Gabriella slid off of Troy's lap and waited while he ordered the pizza. As soon as he came back, she laid her

head on his lap and let him take her hand.

"So, what are we gonna do tomorrow morning before we have to leave?" asked Chad.

"What time do you have to leave?" asked Troy.

"Like around 1:30," Chad replied.

"I gotta leave and catch my flight at 12:00," Taylor said. "So I have to leave here at about 11:15."

"Well we'll have breakfast," Gabriella said.

"I know that," Chad said.

"And how about we show you around our neighborhood?" Gabriella offered.

Chad and Taylor both agreed.

Just then, the pizza came. After they ate, they all stayed in the living room talking for a while. Around nine,

they watched a movie, then after that, started getting ready for bed. "I'll go get the sleeping bags," Troy said.

"Okay," Chad said.

Troy went into the bedroom, with Gabriella following him of course, and took two sleeping bags from the

corner. He handed one to Gabriella to carry, then they gave them to Chad and Taylor.

"Thanks," Chad said.

"Thank you," Taylor said.

"We're gonna go to bed in our room. The water's in the fridge, we have snacks if you get a little hungry at

night, Chad-not too much," Troy said.

Everyone laughed.

"Why does everyone think _I_ will eat everything?" Chad asked.

"Cause you're like that," Troy said.

"Yeah, really," Taylor said.

"Alright, well we're gonna go to bed," Gabriella said.

"Okay," Taylor said.

Troy lifted Gabriella into his arms, carried her into their room, and put her on the bed. He got in next to her

and pulled her close to him. "I love you," he whispered into her ear.

"Love you, too," Gabriella murmured, half asleep.

"Are you warm enough?" asked Troy, pressing a kiss onto her nose.

Gabriella snuggled further into Troy and nodded against his chest.

"Can I give you a good night kiss?" asked Troy.

Gabriella lifted her head to look up at Troy and their lips met. They kissed, Troy running his fingers through

Gabriella's hair and Gabriella wrapping her arms around Troy's neck. "Love you," said.

"Love you, too," Troy said.

Suddenly, their moment was broken by a loud noise coming from the living room. It was Chad yelling. "Hey,

Chad!" called Troy. "Why are you yelling?"

"I was getting a glass of water and I kind of dropped the cup on the floor and it sort of.....well.....broke," Chad

called back.

"Chad!" Troy said in an annoyed and amused voice.

"I told him to clean it up," Taylor called.

"Okay," Gabriella said. "Thanks, Taylor."

"Alright, baby girl. Now let's get some rest," Troy said.

Gabriella wrapped her arms around Troy while he did the same to her, then they both fell fast asleep. It had

been a fun day.


	4. Chad, Stop It!

**"**Hey, Troy! Wake up!" yelled Chad, running into Troy and Gabriella's room.

Troy and Gabriella both slowly opened their eyes. When Troy saw Chad, he groaned. "Chad, it's seven o' clock.

Can me and Gabby stay in bed for one more half hour?" he asked, rolling over on his side to face Chad.

Gabriella rested her chin on Troy's shoulder and wrapped her arms around him from behind.

"But there's an emergency!" Chad exclaimed.

"And the emergency would be......" Troy said in an annoyed voice.

"I'm awake and I'm hungry," Chad said.

"Well get cereal or something. We have a few different kinds in the cabinet closest to the refrigerator. Or in the

refrigerator we have some fruit."

Gabriella nuzzled Troy's shoulder affectionately. Troy looked at her and asked, "What are you doing, baby

girl?"

Gabriella looked at him with her sleepy eyes and smiled her sweetest smile. Troy gently stroked her cheek with

his fingers. "Love you, too," he told her.

"I guess I'll go eat now," Chad said, leaving the room.

Gabriella snuggled against Troy and hugged him tighter, nuzzling his shoulder again.

"Gabby, that tickles," Troy said.

"Okay, Wildcat," Gabriella said. "I'll stop."

"I never said it didn't feel good, too," Troy told her.

Gabriella moved up a little bit so she could kiss Troy's cheek. "You look really tired," she said. "How about we

try to go to sleep again?"

Troy nodded and rolled over so he was facing Gabriella. He held her close to him, pressed his nose to hers, and

kissed it. "Love you," he said.

"Love you, too," Gabriella said, snuggling into him and feeling him gently run his fingers through her hair.

Then they fell asleep again, but not for long. As soon as it was seven thirty, Chad came back into the room.

"WAKE UP!" he yelled. "YOUR TIME LIMIT IS UP!"

Troy opened his eyes and pulled Gabriella closer to him. She quickly blinked her eyes open, then they both sat

up. "Wildcat," Gabriella said sleepily, "Can we go back to sleep later?"

Troy nodded. "Yes, but for now I think we'd better get up." He got out of bed.

Gabriella held her arms out and looked at Troy, waiting for him to pick her up and cuddle her in his warm

arms. Every morning, she liked to be held if she was still tired. Troy bent down, lifted her off the bed, and hugged

her close to him. "Let's go in the living room," he said.

Gabriella snuggled against his shoulder and felt him gently press a kiss onto her cheek. "You can go to sleep

now if you want," he said.

Gabriella closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around Troy's neck. In a minute, she was asleep again.

"Come on, Troy," Chad said.

Troy, holding Gabriella, followed Chad out into the living room and sat down on a chair. He gently stroked

Gabriella's hair and whispered 'I love you' in her ear before gently rubbing his nose against her cheek, causing her

to smile in her sleep.

"Is Gabriella ever not tired?" asked Chad.

"Relax, Chad," Troy said. "She got up early yesterday and today you wouldn't let us sleep in."

"Yeah, Chad, you woke me up, too," Taylor said. "You threw pillows at me until I woke up."

"Well I was awake," Chad said.

"So, do you want to watch basketball?" asked Troy. "There's a game on now."

"At quarter of eight in the morning?" questioned Chad.

"It's last night's game," Troy told his friend. "It's just on again."

"Okay, what channel?" asked Chad.

"Hand me the remote," Troy said, taking one arm away from Gabriella to take the remote.

Chad walked across the room and picked up the remote off of the TV. He threw it to Troy, but Troy didn't

catch it. Instead, it hit Gabriella, making her wake up suddenly. "Wildcat, what happened?" she asked, lifting her

head to look at Troy.

"Chad threw the remote to me and it hit you," Troy said.

"Well you said to hand it to you," Chad said.

"I said hand it, not throw it," Troy corrected. "Are you okay, my love?" he asked Gabriella.

She nodded. "It doesn't hurt that bad."

"Do you want to go get ready?" asked Troy. "Then we can go show Chad and Taylor around our

neighborhood."

Gabriella slowly nodded and let Troy kiss her cheek. She smiled a little, then snuggled back into Troy. Troy

stood up and carried her into their room, closing the door behind them.

"Hey, I wonder if Troy has any cake," Chad said to Taylor.

"Chad, it's morning. You don't need cake at eight o' clock a.m.," Taylor told Chad.

"Hey, I always need cake," Chad said.

"Well you should ask Troy first," Taylor said. "If he bought the cake, he can say no to you eating it."

"Fine," Chad said.

Just then, the phone rang. "Hey, Chad, can you get the phone?" called Troy from the bedroom.

"Okay," Chad said, walking over to the phone. "Hey," he said as he picked it up. Chad never said 'hello' when

he answered the phone. He always said either 'hey' or 'what's up', even if it was someone he didn't know.

"Is this Troy Bolton?" asked a man on the phone.

"No, Troy's busy. This is his friend," Chad said.

"Well I need to talk to Troy," said the man. "I'm a policeman, and I need to tell him something very important."

"Hey, Troy!" called Chad. "The police are after you!"

"What?" Troy asked, confused, as he hurried out from the bedroom, closing the door behind him since

Gabriella was still getting dressed. He took the phone from Chad. "Hello?" he said.

"Hi, Troy Bolton?" asked the policeman.

"Yeah, I'm Troy," Troy said.

"Well I just wanted to tell you that we arrested Allen about an hour ago. He was found trying to run away from

the town," the policeman said. "We now have him in jail and he will be in there a long time. He had a criminal

record before he kidnapped Gabriella."

"Okay, thanks," Troy said.

"You're welcome," the policeman said. "Bye."

"Bye." Troy hung up the phone and ran back into the bedroom. He picked Gabriella up and hugged her close to

him. He covered her face in kisses.

"Wildcat, what was that for?" asked Gabriella, hugging him back.

"Allen got arrested," Troy said. "He's in jail so he will never bother you again."

Gabriella hugged Troy tighter. "Thank you so much!" she said.

"Why are you thanking me?" asked Troy. "I wasn't the one who arrested him."

"But you kept me safe," Gabriella said, clinging to him.

"That's because I love you," Troy said. "You're my precious baby girl. I couldn't let you be hurt in any way. It's

my responsibility to keep you safe."

"I love you so much," Gabriella said.

"And I love you, too. Now if you're ready, we can go now," Troy said.

"Wildcat, you didn't comb your hair," Gabriella said, playing with Troy's bangs.

"Aw, baby girl, does it bother you that much?"

"No, you look cute with messy hair."

"Okay, then, do you want to go?"

Gabriella nodded. Troy put her back down and they walked out of their room holding hands.

"Chad said the police called you," Taylor said.

"Yeah, they did," Troy said.

"Allen just got arrested," Gabriella said, smiling. "So I'm safe now."

"That's great!" Taylor exclaimed.

"So, do you want to go have us show you around the neighborhood?" asked Gabriella.

"Sure," Taylor said.

"Okay," Chad said.

Everyone walked outside, Troy and Gabriella still holding hands with each other. "Let's go this way," Troy

told Chad and Taylor, pointing in the direction he was talking about.

"Okay," Taylor and Chad both said, beginning to follow Troy.

"Well there's not much here," Gabriella said. "Just houses."

"Yeah. But we're gonna come to the park soon. Gabby and I like to have picnics there a lot," Troy said.

"You two make the cutest couple," Taylor said.

"What?" Chad questioned, surprised. "I think they're a little too obsessed with each other."

"Chad, we just don't mind being affectionate with each other, that's all," Troy said.

"But you do it in front of me and I find it kind of gross," Chad said.

"You say anything that doesn't have to do with food or basketball is gross," Taylor pointed out.

"Well I don't like kissing," Chad said.

"WHICH IS WHY WE HAVEN'T HAD OUR FIRST KISS YET," Taylor announced loudly.

"If you were trying to make me mad, it didn't work," Chad said.

Meanwhile, Troy and Gabriella were laughing about Chad and Taylor's conversation. Gabriella was leaning on

Troy slightly and Troy was bending down to kiss her cheeks every so often, making Gabriella smile and kiss him

back.

"Hey, Troy!" Chad yelled. "Stop all the kissing!"

"Chad," Troy said. "You stopped us from kissing about a million times before we had our first kiss. We don't

want to go through that again."

Chad reluctantly decided to stay quiet. It was just his natural habit to tease in a joking way, but he did

understand that Gabriella was Troy's fiancé and not his girlfriend, so he didn't say any more.

"Here's the park," Gabriella told Chad and Taylor.

"It looks cool," Chad said. "Where's the basketball court?"

"There is no basketball court here, Chad," Troy said.

"Then why did we come?" asked Chad.

"So we could show you around our neighborhood," Gabriella said. "This is where we eat whenever we want to

have a picnic."

"Remember that midnight picnic we had here?" asked Troy.

Gabriella smiled at the memory. It had been so romantic, her and Troy, under the stars, kissing.

_Flashback_

_"I'll get the food out," Troy said._

_"Okay," Gabriella agreed. _

_Once Troy had all the food out, Gabriella climbed into his lap and hugged him. "It's so nice here, Wildcat," she_

_commented, placing her head on his shoulder._

_Troy hugged her back. "Remember our first kiss?"_

_Gabriella nodded. _

_**Flashback inside of a flashback**_

_**It was after the talent show at Lava Springs, summer before senior year. It was dark, and stars were shining.**_

_**Everyone was outside, Troy, Gabriella, Sharpay, Zeke, Chad, Taylor, Ryan, Kelsi, and a few others. Everyone **_

_**ran off except Troy and Gabriella, who stood next to each other, Troy's arm around Gabriella.**_

_**"Here's to the future," Gabriella said, looking up into Troy's eyes with a smile on her face.**_

_**"No," Troy said, shaking his head a little, "Here's to right now."**_

_**Then, they kissed, sweetly but passionately. They broke apart and began to kiss again. Suddenly sprinklers**_

_**turned on, causing them to break apart sooner than they wanted to. But then Troy put his hand on Gabriella's**_

_**cheek and leaned close to kiss her once more. Gabriella wrapped her arms around his neck and as they kissed, **_

_**they saw fireworks in the sky. Once they were finished, Gabriella took her arms away from Troy's neck and **_

_**placed them around his waist. Troy slid his around her waist, then they stood there, hugging each other tightly,**_

_**sweetly, and affectionately, all at the same time. They were smiling, happy that they had each other always.**_

_**Flashback inside of flashback over**_

_"Do you want to repeat it?" asked Troy._

_Gabriella looked into his eyes and leaned close to him, waiting to feel his lips on hers. Troy did like she wanted_

_and they kissed. Then, looking up at the sky, right at the stars, they thought about how lucky they were to have _

_each other. Their lips met again, then a third time, then they hugged each other tightly._

Flashback over

"That was so sweet," Gabriella said. "I love you more and more each day."

"Love you, too, baby girl," Troy said.

"Can we just walk?" asked Chad.

"Chad, you're ruining the moment," Taylor said.

Everyone laughed.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

"Bye," Troy and Gabriella said to Chad and Taylor as they were leaving. Chad had decided to leave the same

time as Taylor so she wouldn't have to rent a car to get to the airport.

"Bye," Chad said. "Hope to play basketball again soon."

"Bye," Taylor said. "Thanks for inviting us."

"You're welcome," Gabriella said.

Once they had left, Troy went up to Gabriella and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, pressing a

kiss onto her shoulder before resting his chin there, "It was a crazy weekend," he commented.

"Crazy but fun," Gabriella said, putting her hands on top of his and turning her head so that her brown eyes

locked with his blue ones.

"You know, did anyone ever tell you that you have the prettiest eyes?"

"Only you," Gabriella said. "Did anyone ever tell you that you look adorable when you first wake up in the

morning?"

"Just you," Troy said. "You're the only one who sees me when I first wake up in the mornings."

"Well, yeah, I guess that's true," Gabriella said.

"I love you so much," Troy said.

"Love you, too, Wildcat," Gabriella said.


	5. I'll Always Take Care of You

"Honey, what are we gonna have for dinner?" asked Troy, walking over to where Gabriella was sitting at the

dining room table working on her homework. He pulled a chair up next to her and sat down.

"I don't know," Gabriella said, leaning against Troy's shoulder. "I'm not really in the mood to make dinner. I'm

kind of getting stressed out about college."

"Is it hard?" asked Troy, kissing her cheek.

Gabriella nodded. Troy pushed some hair out of her face. "Baby girl, you feel warm," he told her.

"My throat is kind of sore," Gabriella told him. "But I didn't want to complain about it."

"I think you'd better take your temperature," Troy suggested, kissing her forehead. "You feel really warm and

if you have a fever I'm gonna have to take care of you."

"Okay," Gabriella said. Then she sneezed.

"And we'd better go get some tissues," Troy said, lifting her into his arms.

Once they were in the bathroom, Troy put Gabriella down on the counter and got out the thermometer. "Here,

my love," he said. "Put it in your mouth and we'll see how bad you're sick."

Gabriella did what Troy told her. A minute later, she was done. Troy took the thermometer and said, "You're

temperature is one hundred degrees. You do have a fever. I'm gonna take you to bed."

Gabriella didn't argue. Instead, she let Troy pick her up and carry her into their room, where he laid her on

their bed and tucked her in. Pressing a kiss onto her cheek, he asked, "Do you want anything?"

Gabriella sneezed. "Tissues," she said.

"Okay." Troy left the room and came back a few seconds later with a box of tissues and some throat drops.

"Here Gabby, why don't you try sucking on a throat drop. It might help your throat feel better." He unwrapped

one and handed it to her.

Gabriella put it on her mouth. "Thanks, Wildcat," she said.

"Do you need anything else?" Troy asked.

"Can you stay here with me to keep me company?" asked Gabriella, looking at Troy with pleading eyes.

"Of course," Troy said. He went to his side of the bed and got under the covers with her. As she snuggled

up to him he felt her shivering. "Baby girl, are you okay? You seem really cold," he asked, concerned.

Gabriella snuggled as far into him as she could and said, "I'm freezing."

"Do you want me to get an extra blanket?" asked Troy, beginning to gently stroke her hair.

Gabriella nodded. "I really love you, Wildcat."

"I'll be back." Troy left the bed, went in their closet, and pulled out an extra blanket. He wrapped Gabriella up

warmly in it, then got back in bed next to her. She quickly snuggled back into him and felt him kiss her head. "Do

you want anything to eat or drink?" asked Troy.

"Not now," Gabriella said. "I really don't feel like eating or drinking."

"Well I'm gonna have to make you have some water soon," Troy said. "The worst thing you could do was get

dehydrated."

"I know," Gabriella said, snuggling further into him. Troy put his arms around her and pulled her even closer

to him.

"Baby girl, if you ever feel sick, I won't think you're complaining of you tell me what hurts."

"Okay, Troy. I just didn't want to make a big deal about it." She coughed.

"It's fine. I'm gonna promise you now that I will take care of you and love you as long as I live," Troy said. "I

will have to promise that at our wedding, but I'm promising you now, too."

"And I promise to take care of and love you as long as I-" Gabriella began, being cut off by a sneeze. She

reached for a tissue and wiped her nose.

In about five minutes, Troy told Gabriella that she had to drink a couple sips of water. He went to the kitchen,

filled up a glass with water and ice, and brought it to her. Gabriella sat up, took the cup from Troy, and slowly

took two small sips. Then, she put it on the end table.

"Baby girl, would it help if I made you some soup? That might feel better on your throat." Troy asked as

Gabriella sank back into the pillow. He reached for her hand a affectionately squeezed it.

"Do we have any soup?" asked Gabriella. She coughed again.

"I don't think so. But I can go get some."

"Can you get some Jell-o, too?" asked Gabriella.

"Sure," Troy said. "Any flavor you want, or it doesn't matter?"

"Well I like orange, that's my favorite, but if there is no orange, then it doesn't matter what flavor."

"Okay," Troy said. "And for soup what do you want?"

"Anything with chicken flavored broth is fine."

"Okay." Troy grabbed his Wildcats jacket out of the closet and put it on. "I'll be back as soon as I can. You

just lie down here and rest." He bent down to kiss her nose then her forehead to see if she was still warm. "You're

still warm," he said. "Maybe I'll stop at the pharmacy, too and get some pills to help make your fever go down."

Gabriella nodded in agreement.

"Love you," Troy said. "I'll be back as soon as I can. Will you be okay here?"

Gabriella nodded. "Love you, too," she said.

"Alright, well I'm going now. Bye my love."

"Bye, Wildcat."

________________________________________________________________________________________

Half an hour later, Troy got back home. He quickly went into the bedroom to check on Gabriella. "Hey, baby,"

he said, bending down to kiss her forehead. "You feel a little warmer than you did before," Troy said. Gabriella

could here the concern in his voice. "Take one of there pills." He handed her one of the pills he had bought.

Gabriella sat up, grabbed her glass of water, and took the pill. "Now I'm gonna go make the soup and the Jell-o,"

he said. "The Jell-o will tomorrow morning, if that's okay."

"That's fine," Gabriella said. "And if you want to make yourself some dinner, go ahead. Don't worry too much

about me. I'll be fine."

"Okay," Troy said. "Do you feel any worse?"

"I kind of have a headache now," Gabriella told Troy.

"Aw, my poor baby girl," Troy said, kissing her cheek. "Hopefully the pills I bought help with headaches,

too."

"They should," Gabriella said.

"I hope so. Well I'm gonna go make your soup and Jell-o and quick throw together a sandwich for me. Okay?"

Gabriella nodded.

Troy left the room, made the soup, mixed the Jell-o mix together with hot water, put it in the refrigerator, and

got a sandwich. He put some soup in a bowl for Gabriella and got a spoon out of the silverware drawer. Then he

went back into the bedroom, handed Gabriella her bowl of soup, and sat down on the bed with her. They both ate,

then Troy took Gabriella's bowl and spoon back out to the kitchen. He cleaned up as quick as he could, then went

back to Gabriella. He climbed into bed next to her and put the palm of his hand onto her forehead. "You feel a

little less warm," he told her. "Now how about I lay here with you and we try to go to sleep. You need a lot of

rest to get better."

Gabriella snuggled up to Troy, her face away from him so that if she sneezed or coughed, she wouldn't do it

on Troy. The last thing she wanted to do was make Troy get sick. Troy reached over and turned off the light on

the end table. "Good night," he said. "I love you."

"Love you-" Gabriella coughed, then sneezed. She got a tissue and wiped her nose.

Troy wrapped his arms around Gabriella's waist and rested his head on top of hers. "You sleep as good as you

can. If you need anything, wake me up, okay?"

"Okay," Gabriella said, closing her eyes. She was completely exhausted. Within five minutes, she was fast

asleep.

Troy lay awake for a while yet. He was never really tired that early. He just wanted to be with Gabriella so she

could snuggle with him. He knew that would make her feel better. In about two hours, he finally became tired and

fell asleep along with Gabriella.

________________________________________________________________________________________

The next morning, Gabriella was feeling a little bit better. She still had a headache and her throat hurt, but not

as much as the night before. However, she was still sneezing and coughing and felt tired. Troy called both their

colleges to say that they wouldn't be able to go in that day. Troy could have went, but he wanted to stay with his

fiancé to take care of her. After he was done on the phone, he got Gabriella some Jell-o. He walked back into

their room and handed it to her. "Thanks, Wildcat," she said.

"No problem," Troy replied.

"I'm so lucky to have you with me," Gabriella said. When Troy sat down on the bed, Gabriella immediately

was pressed right up against him. She began eating her Jell-o.

"I'm so lucky to have you," Troy said.

"You're so sweet to take care of me because I'm not feeling good," Gabriella told Troy.

"My precious Gabby, look," Troy began, cupping chin in his hand and making her look at him. "When I asked

you to marry me, I knew taking care of you would come with marriage. It's something you have to promise at

your wedding. And I was ready to promise that to you and only you. No one else."

Gabriella looked Troy straight in his eyes and said, "And I love you so much for it. Most guys wouldn't even

bother making soup and Jell-o or doing little things like getting throat drops and tissues from the bathroom. But

you do, and I really appreciate that. You're special."

"That's because you're so precious to me, yes you are, yes you are," he said, talking to her like she was a baby.

Gabriella put her Jell-o down and climbed onto Troy's lap. Troy put his arms around her and hugged her close

to him, pressing affectionate kisses onto her cheeks and nose. "I love you," he said. "That's why I do all this for

you."

"Love you, too," Gabriella said. She coughed.

Troy nuzzled her cheek and gently ran his fingers through her hair. Gabriella leaned against his shoulder and

closed her eyes to relax. "Baby girl, wanna finish your Jell-o?" asked Troy, taking the bowl of Jell-o and offering

it to Gabriella.

Gabriella took it from him and started eating again. When she was finished, Troy put the bowl on the end table

and carried Gabriella into the bathroom to take her temperature to see if her fever had gone down at all. "One

hundred degrees still," he said.

"It might be a twenty-four hour thing," Gabriella said.

"When did you start feeling sick yesterday?" asked Troy.

"Around three thirty," Gabriella said.

"Okay, then you'll have to have your temperature taken around then."

"Okay."

Troy lifted Gabriella into his arms and carried her into the living room. He sat down on the sofa and put her in

his lap. "I thought you might want to watch a movie or something," he said. "It's probably boring just laying in

bed."

"Thanks, Wildcat," Gabriella said.

Troy put Gabriella down for a minute and put in a movie. Then, he grabbed a blanket and wrapped Gabriella

up in it before putting her back on his lap. "I want you to be warm," he explained.

"Wildcat, can you get my tissues?" asked Gabriella.

"Sure. I'll be right back," Troy said. He let Gabriella slide off of his lap, went into their room, got the tissues,

and came back. "Here you go," he said to Gabriella.

"You can just put them next to us," Gabriella told Troy. She coughed.

"Do you wanna snuggle in my lap?" asked Troy.

Gabriella nodded and climbed back onto Troy. Troy wrapped his arms around her and pressed kisses onto her

cheeks. Gabriella leaned against Troy's shoulder. "Alright, now where's the remote?" asked Troy.

"On the floor." Gabriella leaned forward to pick up the remote and hand it to Troy. Troy put on the movie and

they both watched it. Halfway through, Gabriella fell asleep.

"I love you," Troy whispered into her ear. "I love you a lot."

________________________________________________________________________________________

In about an hour, Gabriella woke up. "Did I fall asleep?" she asked, looking up at Troy.

Troy nodded and kissed her head. "But that's okay. You're sick. You need to sleep a lot. Oh, I want you to

drink some water now. You haven't had anything since you ate your Jell-o this morning."

"Okay," Gabriella said. She sneezed, then reached for a tissue.

"I'm gonna put you down for a minute." Troy gently set Gabriella next to him, went into the kitchen, got a

glass of water, and handed it to her. "Take at least three sips," he said.

Gabriella listened to him. Then she handed him back the still very full cup. "Thanks for taking care of me,"

she said.

Troy kissed her cheek and pushed some hair out of her face. "If you took a hot bath would it make you feel a

little better?" he asked.

"Maybe," Gabriella said.

"How about I come with you and I'll wash you up? You can just relax, but sometimes getting clean makes you

feel better. When you're done, I'll comb your hair for you and get you dressed."

"Okay," Gabriella said.

"And when you're done, if you feel any better, you can come outside with me and watch me practice for

basketball," Troy told her.

"Okay," Gabriella said.

Troy unwrapped Gabriella from the blanket, picked her up, and carried her into the bathroom. "I'll make you

feel better, baby girl," he said.

________________________________________________________________________________________

An hour later, Gabriella was done. Troy had washed her up good, washed her hair, dried her off, combed her

hair, and gotten her dressed. Gabriella thought he was really good at taking care of her. She felt a little better, so

Troy said she could sit outside while he practiced basketball. "But first I want you to get another drink," he said.

"Okay," Gabriella said. She never felt like drinking anything when she was sick, but she knew Troy was

making her so she wouldn't get worse or dehydrated. "Oh, and my headache went away." she told him.

"I'm glad," Troy said, pressing his lips onto her cheek.

After Gabriella had taken a couple sips of water, she followed Troy outside. She sat down in the grass and

watched him practice shooting and dribbling. "You're doing great, Wildcat," she said.

"Thanks," Troy said. "Even though my new team is called the Tigers, I still feel like a Wildcat." He went over

to sit next to Gabriella and put his arm around her.

"Troy, tigers are wildcats," Gabriella said. "But I'm always gonna call you my Wildcat." She sneezed.

"Let's go inside so you can get a tissue," Troy said. He grabbed his basketball and followed Gabriella inside.

"It's around lunchtime. Do you want anything?" he asked.

"Can you make some soup again?" she asked. She coughed then.

"Okay. Why don't you go put on your pajamas and lie down while I make it?" suggested Troy. "I know you

feel a little bit better after your bath, but you're still sick and-" he paused to feel her forehead. "And you're still

warm."

"Alright, Wildcat," Gabriella said. She walked into the bedroom, got changed, and got into bed. About fifteen

minutes later, Troy came into their room with her soup and a hamburger for himself. "Here you go," he told

Gabriella.

"I didn't know we had hamburgers," Gabriella said, looking at Troy's lunch.

"Yeah, they were leftover from Friday's dinner."

"Oh, I thought you ate all those."

"No, there was still one left. But you need to eat your soup." He gently tapped her nose.

Gabriella smiled and said, "You do take good care of me."

"I'll always take care of you," Troy said.

"And I know you will."

After they were done eating, Troy told Gabriella he would take a nap with her. "You don't have to if you're not

tired," Gabriella said.

"It's fine, my love, and anyway, could you really sleep that good without me?"

"Not really," Gabriella said.

"Okay, then I'd better take a nap with you."

"I'd like that," Gabriella said, smiling at him. Then she coughed. "Oh, I left my tissues in the living room."

"I'll get them, don't worry about it," Troy said.

"Thanks, Wildcat," Gabriella said.

"It's really no problem," Troy said. He want into the living room, came back, gave Gabriella her tissues, got in

bed with her, wrapped his arms around her, and let her snuggle into him.

"Troy, I love you," Gabriella said. Then she sneezed on Troy. "I'm so sorry!" she said, reaching for a tissue.

"It's okay. Believe me. I don't care. I love you too much to care," Troy said.

"But I don't want to get you sick."

"If I get sick, I won't mind or be mad at you," he said. "Now just get some rest." He kissed her cheek. "And

anyway, if I get sick, then I can kiss you on the lips again."

"Okay, well as much as I would love to be kissed, I don't want you to get sick. So just kiss my cheek for now."

"Alright," Troy said, pulling Gabriella closer to him. "Are you warm enough?"

Gabriella nodded against his chest, the closed her eyes. Soon, she was asleep. Troy wasn't tired at all, so he

just watched her sleep, thinking about how sweet she looked and how lucky he was to have her in his arms.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Around two o' clock, Gabriella woke up. "Troy," she said. "I have a headache again."

"My poor baby girl," Troy said, kissing her forehead. "You still feel warm, too. In an hour or so I'll take your

temperature and see if it's any higher or lower.

"Thanks so much, Wildcat," Gabriella said. "You're the best fiancé in the world."

"Aw, you're so sweet," Troy said. He gently nuzzled Gabriella's cheek.

"Troy, can I go in the living room?" Gabriella asked. She sneezed.

"It depends what you want to do out there," Troy said.

"I just want to watch TV and lay down on the sofa," she said.

"Okay, I'll come with you."

Troy and Gabriella both walked into the living room. Troy sat down on the sofa and Gabriella laid down and

put her head in his lap. Troy turned on the TV and let Gabriella pick what channel she wanted. Then he gently

stroked her hair and took her hand in his. "I love you," he whispered.

"Love-" Gabriella coughed before she could finish. "I love you, too," she said.

Around three o' clock, Troy made Gabriella drink a little bit of water. Then, he took her temperature again.

"Honey, it's still at one hundred," he said. "It it doesn't go down by tomorrow, you're gonna have to go to the

doctor."

"I hate going to the doctor," Gabriella said.

"I know, I know, so do I," Troy comforted her, kissing her nose. "But I want you to get better."

"I know you know what's best for me," Gabriella said. "And I love you and I trust you."

"I'm glad," Troy said. He kissed her cheek. "And I know that my hugs and kisses make you feel better."

Gabriella smiled. "Yeah, you're right. You hugging and kissing me works better than medicine."

Troy wrapped his arms around Gabriella and hugged her tightly. "I love you so very very much," he said.

"Love you, too," Gabriella said, hugging him back. Then she sneezed. "At least I actually got to finish that

time."

Troy laughed and kissed her cheek. "It's okay, I always know you love me."

"And I know you'll always love me, Wildcat," Gabriella said.

________________________________________________________________________________________

**I just want to apologize if this chapter was too long. It was over 3,000 words, the longest one I've ever**

**done. I was gonna make it end when Gabriella got completely better, but then it would be twice as long,**

**so I decided to stop here. PLEASE REVEIW!**


	6. Reasons Why I Love You

"Gabby, baby, do you want any dinner?" asked Troy as he walked into the bedroom.

"No," Gabriella answered. After Troy had finished taking her temperature, he had made her lie down in bed for

a little bit.

"Well you need to at least take three sips of water," Troy said. "Okay?" He sat down on the bed next to her.

"Okay," Gabriella said. "You can get dinner if you want, though. I don't want to make you go hungry."

"Honey, I'm so far from going hungry," Troy said.

"Well are you hungry at all?" asked Gabriella.

"Just a little."

"Well then you need to go eat," Gabriella said.

"Okay, okay, I'm going," Troy said with a laugh. He stood up and walked out of the room. Five minutes later, he

walked back in with a slice of pizza and a glass of water. "Here, Gabby," he said.

Gabriella took the water from Troy and took three sips like he had asked her to do. "Is that piece of pizza cold?"

she asked him. She coughed.

"Yes," he said. "I like cold pizza."

"You're crazy, Wildcat," Gabriella said.

"Am not, baby girl. You're crazy," Troy said, gently tapping her nose with his finger and sitting down next to

her.

"I love you," Gabriella said.

"Love you, too," Troy said. He took a bite of his pizza. "Are you sure you don't want anything? I kind of feel

bad eating in front of you."

"Don't," Gabriella said. "I'm your fiancé. If I was your new girlfriend it would be rude, but I'm not."

Troy bent down to nuzzle her nose. "You're my baby."

Gabriella smiled and put her glass of water down on the end table. She sank back into the pillows and rested.

"Are you still sleepy, baby girl?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded and put her head on Troy's legs.

"Love you, too," Troy said.

Gabriella smiled. Troy always knew what she did when she wanted to say 'I love you' without words.

"Baby girl," Troy said, "I'm gonna go put my plate in the kitchen."

"Don't leave me," Gabriella whined. "I need you near me."

"Relax, relax, it's okay. I'll be right back."

"I know. I'm just kidding. But I do like it better when I can snuggle with you."

"Can you lift your head up for a second?" asked Troy. "You can lean on me when I get back."

Gabriella sat up and let Troy leave the bed. As soon as he came back and laid down next to her, her head was on

his chest and his arms were wrapping her up in a warm hug. "I love you, Troy," she said.

"I love you, too," Troy said. He pressed a gentle kiss onto her cheek, then her forehead. "You feel a little less

warm, baby girl. Maybe your fever's going away."

"I feel about the same, except my headache's a little better," Gabriella said.

"I'm so glad we live in the same house, baby girl," Troy told Gabriella. "If we didn't, then I couldn't take care of

you as well."

"Troy, you're gonna be a great husband," Gabriella said, looking up at him. She coughed.

"You think so?" asked Troy.

Gabriella nodded. "The best ever."

"And you'll be the best wife ever," Troy said.

"Thanks, Wildcat," Gabriella said. She sneezed, then reached for a tissue.

"I love you," Troy said, pressing his lips onto Gabriella's cheek.

"Love you, too," Gabriella said, kissing his cheek in return. "And when we have kids, you're gonna be a great

dad."

"And you'll be the best mom in the world, I'm sure."

Gabriella snuggled into him and smiled. She then lifted her head and asked, "Did you want to watch the

basketball game? I know you like to and I could come with you and snuggle in your lap and sleep so you wouldn't

have to worry about leaving me alone."

"Okay," Troy said. "Though I would miss the game to take care of my baby," he reminded her.

"See, you will be a good dad," Gabriella said. She coughed. "And when we have kids will you help me take

care of them?"

"Honey, if we're still in college I'll take time off of college, if I'm working I'll take time off of work, and I will

help you with whatever you need help with."

"Okay, thanks. I just wanted to ask you now, though we won't have any kids for at least a year."

"I think we should wait at least two months after we're married to try having kids."

"Yeah, me too," Gabriella agreed. "I just want some time to relax before worrying about it."

"Well now let's just worry about making you feel better," Troy said. He picked up Gabriella and carried her into

the living room. She sat on his lap and slept while he watched the basketball game. When it was over, Troy care-

fully carried her into their room, tucked her in bed, and got in next to her. He kissed her nose and wrapped his arms

around her waist. Then, he fell asleep.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

The next morning, Gabriella woke up to find Troy already awake, but still in bed with her. "How are you feeling

this morning?" he asked her as he saw her eyes open. "Better?"

"My throat feels a little better and my headache is gone," Gabriella said.

"I think you should get your temperature taken to see if your fever's gone," Troy said. He felt her forehead and

said, "It does feel better, but just in case."

"Okay," Gabriella said. She let Troy pick her up and carry her into the bathroom. Her temperature was back to

normal, which pleased both her and Troy.

"I'm gonna stay home with you again today," Troy said. "Tomorrow you should be alright to go to college," he

said.

"Yeah," Gabriella said.

"But just make sure you rest a lot today so you don't get worse again. You need to take it easy even if you are

feeling better, okay my love?"

"Okay," Gabriella agreed.

"Now did you want anything for breakfast?"

"Can I have some toast?" asked Gabriella.

Troy nodded. "I'll make some for you. You can go sit in the living room and relax."

"Okay," Gabriella said. She sneezed.

"Are you okay? Do you need a tissue?" asked Troy.

Gabriella nodded. Troy handed her a tissue and she wiped her nose, which was red and sore from being wiped

so much. "Thanks, Wildcat. I love you."

"Love you, too, Gabby," Troy said. "Your nose looks really sore. Do you want me to kiss it and take the pain

away?"

Gabriella nodded. Troy pressed kisses onto her nose and nuzzled it a few times. "That felt so good," Gabriella

told him.

"I'm glad. Now I'm gonna get your breakfast, so you can just go sit down and relax."

"Okay."

Five minutes later, Troy came into the living room and gave Gabriella her toast, then a glass of water. "I want

you to take a few sips," he explained.

"Okay, I will. I'd do anything to make you happy."

"Aw, you're so sweet." Troy sat down next to her and Gabriella pressed up against him. Troy put his arm around

her shoulders. "Do you want me to do anything today?"

"Can you run the dishwasher?" asked Gabriella.

"Okay," Troy said.

Gabriella smiled as she finished her breakfast and put her plate down. "I love you so much," she said, leaning

her head against his shoulder and hugging him.

"I love you, too," Troy said, hugging her back and kissing her nose. "Do you want some lotion or something to

make your nose feel better?"

"Sure, but I'm still gonna need you to kiss it and nuzzle it."

"Don't worry, I will. I'll do anything you want."

"I love you," Gabriella said.

"Love you, too. Now I'm just gonna put this stuff in the kitchen and start the dishwasher. I'll be back." He slowly

let go of Gabriella and walked into the kitchen.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

An hour later, Troy was laying down in bed with Gabriella while she took a nap. Again, he didn't feel tired, but

he knew that Gabriella could sleep better when she was snuggling with him, so he wanted to make her happy. And

he liked to have her close in his arms because he loved her so much, so he didn't mind snuggling for a little bit

either.

"Troy," Gabriella said, blinking her eyes open and looking into Troy's.

"Hi, baby girl, did you have a good nap?" asked Troy.

Gabriella nodded. "And I just wanted to thank you for snuggling with me every time I feel like laying down."

"I don't mind," Troy said, kissing her cheek. "I never get mad about having to spend all day snuggling with you."

"You're my Wildcat," Gabriella told him.

"And you're my baby girl," Troy said, kissing Gabriella's cheek again.

"Do you wanna do something?" asked Gabriella.

"Like what?" asked Troy.

"How about we watch a movie?" suggested Gabriella.

"Okay," Troy agreed. "Do you want me to carry you to the living room?" he asked.

Gabriella nodded. Troy put his arms around her and lifted her off of the ground and into his arms. Gabriella

laughed a little. "I like being held," she said.

"Well I like holding you, baby girl," Troy said. "You're my baby."

"Love you so so so so so-" Gabriella was cut off by a sneeze. "I need a tissue," she said.

"Let's stop in the bathroom and get one," Troy said. He walked out of the room and into the bathroom, grabbed

a tissue, and handed it to Gabriella. "Here you go," he said.

"Thanks, Wildcat," Gabriella said, wiping her nose. "I'm lucky to have you to take care of me."

"And I love you, too," Troy said.

"Oh, that's right, I never got to finish saying how much I love you," Gabriella remembered as Troy sat down on

the sofa with her in his arms. "I love you so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so much!" She snuggled into

him and felt him gently stroke her hair.

"I love you so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so much," Troy told her.

"Hey, no fair, you beat me!" Gabriella said. She coughed.

"Love you more than anything, Gabby."

"Love you more than anything, too, Wildcat."

"Do you wanna watch a movie now or just snuggle?" asked Troy.

"I think I just feel like snuggling for a little bit," Gabriella answered. "You're really warm."

"And you're really cold, so it works out," Troy said.

Gabriella wrapped her arms around Troy's neck and reached up to kiss his cheek affectionately.

"Love you, too," Troy said, kissing her cheek in return.

Gabriella smiled. She loved Troy and she was always glad when he gave her any signs of the affection he had

for her that she felt in return towards him. "Troy, you're my best friend, too," she said. "And my fiancé."

"And you're my best friend, too," Troy said. "No one is more loving than you are. You never make fun of me,

you always want to help me, you never tell me that you know more than me. I love you for it and so many other

things."

Gabriella coughed. "How about we say everything we love about each other?" She paused, then said, "Well,

not everything. It would take the rest of our lives to say everything we loved about each other."

"I know," Troy agreed. "Alright, I'll go first. I love you because you care about me, you're the sweetest girl in the

world, you know how to cheer me up, you make me dinner, you snuggle with me every night, you call me your

Wildcat."

Gabriella started to smile.

"You help me when I need help, you never stay mad at me for long if you get mad at me, you trust me, you

never say it's impossible for me to be a basketball player or do theater, and you were gonna give me up so that I

could be a basketball player like you knew I always wanted. But then I realized you were my dream, and that I

needed you more than I would ever need to play basketball."

Happy tears came into Gabriella's eyes and one ran down her cheek. "And I love you because you were about to

give up everything you ever wanted for me, you take care of me when I'm sick, you snuggle with me every night,

you help me when I need help, you cheer me up when I need to be cheered up, you hold me close to you and just let

me cry if I need to cry without asking me any questions and not making me talk until I'm ready, you tell me that you

love me at least ten times a day, you call me your baby girl, and you carry me around the house when I'm tired."

"Aw, Gabby, you're so precious to me."

"Love you, too," Gabriella said.


	7. Cooking Lessons

"Tiara, you need to say that line louder," Sharpay said. She was helping with the drama club at East High like

she said she was going to do at graduation, and Tiara wasn't doing so well. She yelled at Sharpay every time she

told her to do something over again or talk louder or move left or right.

"Come on! I was basically shouting that time!" Tiara yelled.

"No you weren't," Sharpay said. "And you need to project your voice. That skill is very important. So I want

you to try that, okay?" She was trying to be nice, though she was really frustrated.

"I HAVE A MICROPHONE!" Tiara yelled. "IT'LL MAKE MY VOICE LOUDER! I'LL TURN IT UP ON

HIGH!"

"Tiara, Tiara, calm down. Go have a fifteen minute break. Jimmy, can you and Julliette please come out and

practice your scene?" Sharpay asked. Julliette was a girl a lot like Gabriella. She had started out the shy new

student at East High, but turned out to like acting a lot. Jimmy actually had started to like her. Tiara had started to

like a new guy named Nate, so it worked out. Nate was kind of like Ryan.

Jimmy and Julliette walked on stage and started doing their duet. "Good job," said Sharpay as they finished.

"I still can't believe I didn't get the lead!" Tiara exclaimed. "Like everyone knows that I'm cool!" She had come

back from her break, though it had only passed ten minutes.

"Tiara, calm down. I had to give up my lead role to Gabriella, so get over it," Sharpay said.

"Stupid Gabriella didn't deserve anything. You didn't deserve anything. NO ONE BUT ME DESERVES ANY-

THING!" She yelled, causing everyone in the room to look at her.

"Hey, Tiara," said a voice behind Tiara.

Tiara turned around. It was Nate. "Oh, hi, Nate," Tiara said.

"Hi," Nate said. "Hey, wanna come over to my house after school today?" he asked.

"Sure," Tiara said, smiling.

"Okay, I'll see you after school then." He stood next to Tiara and waited for instructions for what he was

supposed to do in the drama club.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

"Troy, I sneezed a lot during college today," Gabriella said.

"That was kind of...random," Troy said. "But were you okay?"

"Yeah, just a little tired," Gabriella answered. "And I missed you."

"Missed you, too," Troy said, going over to hug Gabriella.

"I love you so much," Gabriella said, hugging him back. She sneezed. "Okay, now I'm starting to sneeze again."

She laughed.

Troy kissed Gabriella's nose. "I love you so so much, so I beat you again." He gently tapped her nose with

his finger.

"Wildcat, you always beat me," Gabriella said, laughing.

"That's because it's impossible for anyone to love someone as much as I love you."

Gabriella smiled and snuggled into Troy. "I think it's possible-but only for me to love you more than anyone

loves anyone else."

"Hey! The game's over, my love. You can't say anything else about how much you love me. I won," Troy said,

kissing her head and gently stroking her hair.

"Wildcat, I love you so much," Gabriella said, hugging him tighter.

"Love you, too," Troy said, hugging Gabriella tighter and kissing her head again.

"Troy, what do you want for dinner?" asked Gabriella.

"Um, honey, I'm making dinner tonight. You might feel better, but you need to still take it easy, okay?"

"Okay," Gabriella said. "What are you gonna make?"

"Something easy," Troy said. "Like pizza rolls and fries."

"And they will taste so good because you made them," Gabriella said.

"Sometime after you're better, you gotta teach me how to make more things so I can help you more."

"Alright, Wildcat. I promise I will." She coughed.

"Great. Now let me go start dinner," Troy said. "After the stuff is in the oven, I'll snuggle in the sofa with you

until it's done, okay?"

Gabriella nodded in agreement and sat down on the sofa in the living room. "I'll wait here for you," she said.

"Sounds good," Troy said, walking into the kitchen.

About five minutes later, Troy walked out of the kitchen and sat next to Gabriella. He kissed her cheek and

pulled her close in his arms. "I love you," he whispered in her ear. "More than anything."

"Love you, too," Gabriella whispered back. She leaned her head against his shoulder.

"So, do you have a lot of stuff to study tonight?" asked Troy.

Gabriella nodded. "Where are you gonna work after we graduate college?"

"I was thinking about taking my dad's job at East High as the basketball couch and Ms. Darbus' place as drama

teacher since she'll be retired by then and if my dad isn't, then I'll just assist him."

"I'm gonna teach geometry and chemistry at East High," Gabriella said. "So we'll both be working in the same

building and having the same days off."

"That'll be cool," Troy said. "I'm not doing the NBA because I want to stay close to you. And I could go to New

York and audition to be in a Broadway play, but I'd rather stay with you and never leave you."

Gabriella snuggled into Troy. "I'm so glad we're both gonna work at East High. I like that school."

"Me, too," Troy said. "And guess what? I'll be a Wildcat again!"

"You'll always be my Wildcat," Gabriella said.

"Love you," Troy told Gabriella, kissing her cheek again.

"Love you, too," Gabriella said back. She sneezed.

"I'll get you a tissue," Troy said. He stood up, walked into the bathroom, grabbed a tissue, and walked back into

the living room, handing it to Gabriella.

"Thanks, Wildcat," Gabriella said.

A beeping noise came from the kitchen. "Oh, dinner's done," Troy said. "That was the timer."

"Okay, Wildcat," Gabriella said. She walked over to the table and sat down. Troy put food on plates for them

and carried it over to the table.

"What do you want to drink, baby girl?"

"Water."

"Okay, I'll get you some water," Troy said, going back into the kitchen. A minute later, he came out, handing

Gabriella a glass of water. "Love you so very much," he said.

"Love you, too," Gabriella said before she took a few sips of her water.

Troy smiled at his fiancé as he sat down next to her and started eating. "How do you like the food?" he asked

Gabriella.

"Troy, you're so good at cooking," Gabriella said. "And thanks for making dinner."

"No problem," Troy said. "I will always do things that will help you."

"You're sweet," Gabriella said. "I love you so much."

"No, you're sweet," Troy said, reaching over with his finger to wipe some sauce off of Gabriella's chin. "And

I love you, too."

"Did I have something on my face, Wildcat?" asked Gabriella.

"Just a little bit of sauce," Troy answered.

"You're crazy," Gabriella said.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Three hours later, Troy and Gabriella were snuggled close together on the sofa, Troy's arm around Gabriella's

shoulders and Gabriella's head on Troy's shoulder. They had decided to talk a little before bed.

"I can't wait for our wedding," Gabriella said.

"Neither can I," Troy said. "I'm so glad you don't want a huge fancy wedding cause I hate dressing up."

Gabriella laughed. "I love you so much I would get married right now on our sofa."

Troy laughed. "As weird as it would sound to other people, so would I."

"I love you, Wildcat," Gabriella said. She sneezed.

"Love you, too," Troy said back. He gently pressed a gentle kiss onto her cheek. "I'm so happy we never have

to leave each other."

"Yeah, me too," Gabriella murmured, half to herself.

Troy could tell Gabriella was thinking about something. "What are you thinking about, baby girl?"

"You," Gabriella said.

"Good things or bad things about me?"

"Good things."

"You're my baby forever," Troy told her. He kissed her nose before rubbing his own against it.

"Wildcat, you spoil me," Gabriella said, nuzzling him back.

"I love spoiling you. It's so much fun," Troy said.

"Is it because you like spending time with me?" asked Gabriella, looking up into his blue eyes.

"Yeah," Troy said. "You're the sweetest girl in the world and I could never love anyone more than I love you."

Gabriella smiled and reached up to kiss his cheek. "I love you, too."

"Is it okay if I put on some basketball?" asked Troy.

"Go ahead," Gabriella told him, grabbing the remote and handing it to him. "I know you love basketball. But I

also know that you love me more."

"Yeah, way more," Troy said, smiling and bending down to kiss Gabriella's cheek.

Gabriella coughed. "Did I cough on you, Wildcat?"

Troy nodded.

"I'm so sorry!" Gabriella exclaimed. I should have covered my mouth sooner!"

"Honey, relax. It's okay. I'll love you no matter what," Troy said, turning on the TV.

Gabriella snuggled against Troy and closed her eyes. She wasn't going to sleep, she just wanted to relax. In

about twenty minutes, she said, "Troy, I'm tired."

"Do you wanna go to sleep and get some rest?" asked Troy, affectionately stroking her cheek with his fingers.

Gabriella nodded. "But only if you want to," she quickly added.

"We can," Troy said. "I watched almost half an hour of the game. I can just look up the scores tomorrow on the

computer to see who won."

"Okay," Gabriella said.

"Alright, let's go to bed. Anyway, it's almost quarter of ten. I don't want to go to bed too late because if I do, I'll

be too tired at college tomorrow." Troy pushed the power button on the remote, turning off the TV. Then he stood

up, took both of Gabriella's hands in his own, and helped her off the sofa.

"Thanks, Wildcat," Gabriella said.

"No problem," Troy told her. He let go of one of her hands, but held on to her other one as they walked into

their room and laid down on their bed.

"Troy, we have to get ready for bed," Gabriella reminded her fiancé.

"Okay, my love. Let's go get ready quick."

In ten minutes, Troy and Gabriella both got in bed, snuggled up to each other, and fell asleep.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

"I'll get it!" called Gabriella. It was after college the next day and the phone was ringing. She ran over to it and

picked it up. "Hello?"

"Hey Gabriella."

Gabriella recognized Sharpay's voice. "Oh, hi Sharpay. How is it in Albuquerque?"

"Pretty good. Tiara keeps on giving me a hard time in drama club. She still complains about you even though

you don't even live here right now," Sharpay told her friend.

"Tiara never stops, does she?" asked Gabriella.

"I guess not," Sharpay said. "And she had a new boyfriend named Nate, and Jimmy has a new girlfriend named

Julliette. Donny has no girlfriend, but I see him looking at this girl named Emily, so I think he might soon."

"It doesn't surprise me that Jimmy and Tiara didn't stay together," said Gabriella.

"I was hoping they would, but I guess singing karaoke was temporary for them."

"Yeah," Gabriella agreed. "But for me and Troy it's forever."

"I was always jealous of you before me and Zeke got together because I knew you and Troy were perfect for

each other and I hated that," Sharpay admitted.

"Well we're friends now, so it's fine," Gabriella said. "I have Troy, you have Zeke, no one annoys anyone. It's

perfect."

"I know," Sharpay said.

Gabriella and Sharpay talked a little longer, then Gabriella had an idea. "How about you come visit us next

weekend?" she suggested. "And bring Zeke if you want."

"Okay," Sharpay agreed. "That would be cool. What's your address?"

Gabriella told her the address of the house, and said, "I'll see you next weekend."

"See you," Sharpay said. "I can't wait!"

"Neither can I," Gabriella said. "And there's a mall near our house, so bring money."

"Okay," Sharpay said. "Well I better go. See you next weekend."

"See you," Gabriella said. "Bye."

"Bye," Sharpay said.

Gabriella hung up the phone and went to find Troy. "Troy!" she called. "Wildcat, where are you?" She looked

out the window and saw him practicing basketball. She smiled and went outside. "Hey, Wildcat," she said. "Guess

what? Sharpay and Zeke are coming next weekend."

"Really?" said Troy, stopping his practice to go stand with Gabriella.

Gabriella nodded. "Sharpay just called and I invited them."

"That's great!" Troy said. "I haven't seen them in a long time."

"I know," Gabriella said. "And apparently the karaoke wasn't magic for Jimmy and Tiara."

"Why, what happened?" asked Troy.

"Well Jimmy has a new girlfriend named Julliette and Tiara has a new boyfriend named Nate. And Tiara is

back to being bratty," Gabriella said.

"I'm glad we moved, then," Troy said. He bent down to kiss Gabriella's cheek.

"Thanks, Troy," Gabriella said.

"For what?" asked Troy, confused.

"For kissing me." She sneezed.

"Oh, you're welcome," Troy said. "It seems like you aren't sneezing at much," he commented.

"I know, I'm almost better," Gabriella said, sounding happy.

"I'm glad. Can I kiss you?" Troy asked.

Gabriella didn't answer with words. Instead, she pressed her lips onto Troy's and started love-biting his. Troy

kissed back and gently licked Gabriella's lips. Gabriella started doing the same to Troy. Troy dropped his

basketball and hugged Gabriella. Gabriella hugged back. They kept kissing until they couldn't breathe anymore.

"I'm so glad we could finally do that," Gabriella said.

"Me, too," Troy agreed. "Your lips taste chapped, though. You should put on some lip balm to make them

better. I'm not saying I hated kissing you, I'm just saying that I want your lips to get better."

"Okay," Gabriella said.

Troy began walking inside.

"Troy!" Gabriella whined.

Troy turned around. "What do you want, my love?"

"More kisses," Gabriella replied, smiling her sweetest smiling and making her eyes meet Troy's.

"Okay," Troy said. He walked over to her and they kissed three more times before holding each other's hands

and walking inside. "What's for dinner?" Troy asked Gabriella.

"Chicken," Gabriella said.

"Can you show me how to make it?" asked Troy.

Gabriella smiled. "Yes. Come here and we can start. But wash your hands first."

"Okay, my Gabby," Troy said. He washed his hands then went over to Gabriella.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

An hour later, dinner was ready. "Thanks for showing me how to do that, Gabby," Troy said.

"You're welcome. I'm so glad you're interested in cooking," Gabriella replied.

"I actually hate cooking, which is why I only learned how to make about five things. But I love you, and I want

to be able to help you whenever I can. And I can't do that if I can only make five things," Troy said.

"You're so sweet," Gabriella said, kissing Troy's cheek. "This is another reason I love you so much."

"Love you, too," Troy said.

"By the way, what are the five things you can make?" asked Gabriella.

"Hamburgers, hot dogs, pizza, spaghetti, and grilled cheese. I'm not counting heat-up things like soup or fries."

"You're so sweet," Gabriella said. "I love you."

"Love you, too. Now are we gonna eat?"

"Yes," Gabriella said. "We'll eat right now."

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE!**

**I'm sorry about breaking up Tiara and Jimmy, but I just wanted to put in three more characters like Ryan, Gabriella, and Taylor. Since Jimmy, Donny, and Tiara were like Troy, Chad, and **

**Sharpay, I thought it would make sense if I put Jimmy with Julliette (ik I spelled that weird, but I like spelling names different;) and Tiara with Nate (this time they're BF and GF instead of **

**brother and sister) and Donny with Emily. If you don't like it, please tell me and I can find a way to switch it back to Jimmy/Tiara. I don't wanna disappoint all of you. And one more thing-**

**do you think Gabriella is too clingy to Troy? Please tell me the truth. I got 1 reveiw saying she was and she was acting too babyish, but I want more opinions. So, reveiw and I hope you**

**enjoyed today's chapter!**


	8. Sharpay and Zeke Visit

"Troy, Sharpay and Zeke will be here any minute!" Gabriella called to Troy, who was in their bedroom getting

out sleeping bags for Sharpay and Zeke.

"I'll be there in a minute, honey!" Troy called back.

Just then, Sharpay's pink convertible pulled into the driveway. "Wildcat, they're here!" Gabriella called.

Troy rushed out of the bedroom and wrapped his arms around Gabriella. "Okay, okay, I'm right here, baby," he

said.

Gabriella hugged Troy back, but when the doorbell rang, they had to break apart and answer it. "Hey, Zeke,"

Troy said. "How's it going?"

"Hi, Sharpay!" Gabriella said. "You can put your stuff right in the living room."

"Okay," Sharpay said. "It's great to see you two again. Albuquerque hasn't been the same without you two

walking around holding hands and having picnics in the meadow."

"Really?" Gabriella asked, surprised. "I didn't know that we were that popular." She laughed.

"Well you are," Sharpay said. "Jimmy misses asking Troy for basketball advice. He's been stuck asking Donny,

who knows pretty much nothing compared to Troy."

Gabriella laughed. "Do you want anything to drink?" she asked.

"No thanks, not now. But I have to go to the bathroom."

"Okay, the bathroom is right down the hallway on the right. First door."

"Thanks, Gabriella."

"Zeke, do you need anything to drink?" asked Gabriella. "My Wildcat is forgetting his manners," she said

affectionately, going over to Troy and gently fixing his hair with her fingers.

"Baby girl, I love you," Troy said.

"Love you, too, Wildcat," Gabriella said.

Troy kissed Gabriella's cheek and then rubbed his nose against it. "You're so silly sometimes, my love," he told

her.

"No, you are," Gabriella told him, gently tapping his nose with one of her fingers.

"Alright, well Zeke, do you need anything to drink?"

"No, not right now, Troy," Zeke said.

"Now you're being polite," Gabriella said, laughing.

"Honey, I love you more than anything. Though sometimes you can be very silly," Troy said.

"Do you mean that meanly or affectionately?" Gabriella asked, smiling.

"Affectionately, of course," Troy replied. He gave Gabriella a kiss on the nose. "Did you really mean that?"

"No," Gabriella said. "I was just kidding. I knew you meant it affectionately."

"Of course I did," Troy said.

Just then, Sharpay walked back into the living room. "What did I miss, anything good?" she asked.

"Troy just called me silly," Gabriella said.

"I meant it affectionately," Troy said, kissing Gabriella on the cheek. "You know that."

"Yeah, I know," Gabriella said, kissing Troy in return. "But I just think you're crazy sometimes."

Troy smiled at Gabriella and wrapped one of his arms around her shoulders.

"See, this is what everyone in Albuquerque misses," Sharpay said.

"We're affectionate-fighting," Troy said.

"Yeah, we don't really mean it, but we just pretend to be mad and we kiss during it," Gabriella added.

"Well everyone misses you two doing that," Sharpay said.

"Hey, Zeke, wanna play some basketball?" asked Troy, turning to Zeke.

"Sure. I haven't played basketball with you for a long time," Zeke replied. "You got a basketball court?"

"Well a small area and a hoop for practice in the backyard," Troy told him. "But when Chad came up here, we

played it and it worked."

"Okay, awesome," Zeke said.

"Gabby, my love, do you want to come watch?" asked Troy. Gabriella jumped onto Troy, making him hold her

in his arms. "Sharpay, you can come, too," she told Sharpay.

"Okay," Sharpay said. She followed everyone outside and sat down next to Gabriella on the grass. "You beat

Zeke, okay, Wildcat?" Gabriella told Troy.

Troy smiled at her and nodded. Gabriella blew him a kiss just before the game started.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

An hour later, Troy and Zeke were done playing basketball. They followed Gabriella and Sharpay inside. Troy

grabbed two water bottles and gave one to Zeke. "Thanks, Troy," Zeke said.

"No problem," Troy said. "Gabby, Sharpay, do you want a water bottle?" asked Troy.

"Sure," said Sharpay.

Troy handed her a water bottle. "Here you go."

"Thanks, Troy," Sharpay said politely.

"Baby girl, do you want water?" asked Troy, turning towards Gabriella.

"Can I steal some of yours?" asked Gabriella, laughing.

"Fine," Troy said, pretending to be annoyed with her. "But I get the first sip. I was just playing basketball for

an hour." He opened the water bottle, drank a little bit, then handed it to Gabriella. Gabriella drank some, then put

the lid back on.

"What's next?" asked Zeke.

"I don't know," Troy said. "Want to play a game?"

"Troy, we're not kids," Zeke said.

"I meant a video game," Troy said.

"Oh," Zeke said. "What do you have?"

"We just got a Wii a few days ago. We have the sports game," Troy said.

"Okay," Zeke said. "Are you good at it?"

"Well I beat Gabby five times," Troy said.

"Wildcat, it's not nice to brag," Gabriella said, going over to Troy to hug him. "And you know sports better

than I do anyway," she said. "So you had an unfair advantage. And anyway, I won twice."

"That's because it was the ice skating thing. I know nothing about ice skating," Troy said.

"You don't know how to hold the remote the right way to play it," Gabriella corrected him. "I never skated,

either."

"We can play it after Troy and Zeke play a game of something," Gabriella said.

Troy and Zeke sat down on the sofa to play the game. Gabriella jumped onto Troy's lap and laughed. "Honey, I

can't see right," Troy said.

Gabriella grabbed Troy's arm gently and put it around her, still laughing. "I want to sit on your lap," Gabriella

said.

"Well at least lean back a little," Troy said. "And I can only hold you with one arm," he added.

Gabriella let her head drop back onto Troy's shoulder.

"What are we playing?" asked Zeke.

"Basketball, what else?" Troy said. "Look at the person I made for me," Troy said, pointing at the TV. "You

can make one because the only ones we made were ones for me and Gabby."

"How do you do that?" asked Zeke.

"I'll get to it," Troy said.

In five minutes, they were finally ready to start the game.

"I am so gonna beat you," Zeke said.

"Are not, Zeke," Troy argued.

"But you have a disadvantage."

"How?"

"You're holding Gabriella. That'll make you mess up."

"I'll still beat you," Troy said.

Ten minutes later, Troy had won the game. "Come on," Zeke said.

"I told you I would win," Troy said.

"Wildcat, can me and Sharpay play ice skating?" asked Gabriella.

"In ten more minutes," Troy said. "I want to show Zeke the baseball game."

"Troy," Gabriella said.

"In ten more minutes, baby girl," Troy said.

"Zeke, are you actually gonna give up playing?" asked Sharpay.

"Maybe," Zeke said. "I like this thing. It's cool."

Sharpay rolled her eyes and pretended to be really mad.

"Sharpay, calm down," Zeke said.

"Fine," Sharpay said.

In twenty minutes, the game was over. Troy had won again. "Wildcat, you said ten minutes."

"Sorry, baby girl," Troy said, handing her the remote. "Here you go."

"Thanks," Gabriella said.

Zeke handed Sharpay his remote, then Sharpay asked, "Can I make a person on here?"

"Yeah," Gabriella said.

Troy wrapped his other arm around Gabriella's waist, too, holding her closer to him. Within five minutes,

Sharpay and Gabriella had started setting up the game. "I want to be the pink team," said Sharpay.

"Okay," Gabriella agreed. She picked a team for her, then they started the game. In ten minutes, Sharpay had

won. "You were good," Gabriella said.

"Thanks," Sharpay said.

"Do you want to play again?" asked Gabriella.

"Sure," Sharpay said. "I really like this game."

They played another round, which Gabriella won. "I beat you this time," she told Sharpay.

"I know," Sharpay said.

"What do you want to do now?" asked Troy.

"Um, how about we just sit and hang out," Gabriella suggested.

"Alright," everyone else agreed.

Troy pulled Gabriella even closer to him and kissed her cheek. "Love you," he said.

"Love you, too," Gabriella said back, giving Troy a loving look.

Troy gently stroked her hair as Zeke began telling him all about his year so far at U of A. "It's great," he said. "I

am really getting better at basketball."

"What job are you gonna get after college?" asked Troy.

"I'm trying for the NBA," Zeke said.

"I'm gonna take Ms. Darbus' place as drama teacher at East High and help my dad with coaching the Wildcats."

"Why?" asked Zeke. "You could easily get into the NBA."

"Because Gabby's gonna teach geometry and chemistry at East High and I wanna be close to her."

"I'm gonna be working in the drama department at East High, too," Sharpay said.

"Cool," Gabriella said.

"That's good," Troy said. "Cause I'm gonna be doing basketball coaching some days, so there will have to be

someone else in drama."

"We'll all be going back to high school," Gabriella laughed. "Except Zeke," she added.

"I'll drop in sometimes," Zeke said.

"Awesome," Troy told his friend.

"Troy, can we have lunch together every day?" asked Gabriella.

Troy nodded. "It'll be so nice to work in the same place as you."

Gabriella agreed. "I love you so much!"

"Love you, too, baby girl," Troy said to Gabriella.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

In about an hour, Troy asked if anyone was hungry.

"I am," Zeke said.

"A little," Gabriella said.

"Just a tiny bit," said Sharpay.

"Do you wanna go somewhere for dinner or stay here?" asked Troy.

"Whatever you want," Sharpay said.

"We could get pizza like we did when Chad and Taylor were here," Gabriella suggested.

"Sounds good," Troy agreed.

Sharpay and Zeke both said it was fine with them, so Troy made Gabriella slide off his lap so he could order

the pizza.

In about twenty minutes, the pizza came. Troy paid for it, then everyone sat down at the table and ate. When

they were done, they all decided to take a walk around the neighborhood. "Troy, can I use one of your jackets?"

Gabriella asked.

"Don't you have your own?" asked Troy.

"Yours are warmer," Gabriella said.

"How?" asked Troy.

"Because you wear them and get too hot in them so you make them warm," Gabriella said.

"Okay," Troy said, laughing. He handed Gabriella one of his Wildcats jackets. She put it on, then they all went

outside.

The walk went fine. Everyone had a good time until they got back to Troy and Gabriella's house. Troy tried to

open the door, but it was locked and he hadn't brought his key. "This is just great," he said sarcastically.

"Yeah," Zeke agreed, also in a sarcastic tone. "We'll have to sleep outside here." He began pulling on the

doorknob.

"Let me try to pick the lock," Sharpay offered. "You boys pulling on the doorknob isn't gonna do anything to

help."

"Go ahead," Troy told her.

Sharpay took a bobby pin from her hair and tried to pry the lock open, but it failed. "Sorry, guys," she said.

"Troy, how did you get the door open when you got me from Allen's house?" asked Gabriella.

"Who's Allen?" asked Sharpay.

Gabriella briefly told her friend about her being kidnapped. "And Troy could pick the lock then," she added.

"Oh my gosh, that sounds terrible," Sharpay said. "It's a good thing you had your cell phone."

"I don't have what I had with me then," Troy told everyone. "I'm sorry."

"Check the windows!" Zeke yelled.

"Zeke!" Sharpay said. "People are gonna think we're robbers trying to break in!"

Everyone laughed except for Troy. "This is serious!" he yelled. "No time for jokes. Gabby, get over here and

help me look for an unlocked window," he said kind of rudely, grabbing Gabriella's wrist and pulling her over.

Gabriella was shocked. Troy had never spoken to her that harshly before. "Troy," she said.

"Be quiet, Gabriella," he said to Gabriella.

A tear ran down Gabriella's cheek. Troy always called her either Gabby, honey, baby, baby girl, or some other

nickname he had for her. She quickly wiped her cheek and started checking the windows. "They're all locked," she

said. Her eyes were red, so everyone knew she had been crying.

"What's wrong, Gabriella?" asked Sharpay.

"Come here and I'll tell you," Gabriella said, motioning towards the side of the house. Sharpay followed her.

"Troy never talked to me like that before," she said. "I'm afraid I made him really mad." Another tear rolled down

her cheek. Darkness had already taken over most of the sky. Gabriella looked up at the stars, thinking about what

had happened.

"I'm sure he still loves you," Sharpay said. "Why don't you go over and talk to him about it?" she suggested.

Just then, Troy came over to where Sharpay and Gabriella were sitting. Even though it was dark, he could tell

Gabriella was upset. His blue eyes filled with worry. "What's wrong, baby girl?" he asked, sitting down next to her

and wrapping his arms around her.

"I made you mad. Now you'll never love me again," Gabriella sobbed.

Troy kissed Gabriella's cheek. "I'm so sorry, precious," he said. "I got really mad about being locked out and I

lost my temper. I'm so sorry. I never want to do anything to hurt you." He gently stroked his fiancé's cheek with

his fingers, gently wiping away her tears. "Can you forgive me?"

Gabriella nodded and hugged Troy. Troy hugged her back.

"I'll leave you two alone," Sharpay said, standing up to leave.

"Gabby, I love you. And if I ever do that again, just tell me you're upset, okay?" He pressed a kiss onto her

head.

Gabriella nodded. "I will."

Troy took one arm away from Gabriella's waist and put it under her chin, making her look at him. He pressed

his lips carefully onto hers and they kissed passionately. When they broke apart, Gabriella looked into Troy's eyes

and smiled. "Maybe I shouldn't have been joking around, either," she said. "I'm sorry, Wildcat."

"Don't be," Troy said. "I love you so much and I hurt you. You didn't do anything wrong."

"Are you sure?" Gabriella asked.

Troy nodded. "Now let me go apologize to Sharpay and Zeke for yelling at them." he stood up and helped

Gabriella stand. Then, holding hands, they walked over to Sharpay and Zeke. "Hey, guys, I'm sorry. I was rude to

you and I shouldn't have been. Can you forgive me?"

"Sure," Zeke said. "I get mad, too sometimes."

"Of course," Sharpay said.

"Wildcat?" asked Gabriella, looking up into Troy's eyes, "How are we going to get in?" She was starting to

shiver from the winter-like air that had come with the darkness. When she breathed, she could see her breath.

"We'll find a way," Troy said. "Are you cold?"

Gabriella nodded. Troy lifted her into his arms and hugged her close to him. "You're shivering," he commented.

"Yeah," Gabriella agreed, putting her head on Troy's shoulder.

"Do you need me to get all the shivers out?" Troy asked affectionately.

Gabriella nodded against his shoulder.

Troy hugged her tighter and pressed a few kisses onto her cheeks. "Snuggle into me," he said. "It'll make you

warmer."

Gabriella snuggled as far into Troy as she could get, wrapping her arms tighter than they already were around

his neck.

"Alright, are all your shivers gone?" Troy asked.

"Yes," Gabriella said.

"Okay," Troy said. "I'm gonna call 911 and tell them we're locked out of our house and we can't get in."

"Are you allowed to call for that?" Gabriella asked.

"Good point," Troy said. "Let's walk to the grocery store and see if they have a phone book there."

"Can we come, too?" asked Sharpay.

"Sure," Troy said.

The walk to the grocery store was fifteen minutes. When they got there, they all went inside, Troy still holding

Gabriella tightly in his arms, and went over to the customer service desk. "Hi," Troy said. "We're locked out of our

house and we were wondering if you had a phone book so I could look up the number of a person who can pick

locks."

"Okay, you can see our phone book," the lady at the desk said. She put a large book on the counter.

"Thanks," Troy said, beginning to page through it. "Here we go. Expert lock pickers." He got out his cell

phone, dialed the number, and explained what had happened. He gave the address of the house and directions.

Then he said thanks and bye and hung up. "They'll be at our house in half an hour," he told everyone.

"Cool," Sharpay said.

"Alright," Zeke said.

Gabriella just snuggled even further into Troy and hugged him tighter. "Baby? Are you okay?" he asked gently.

Then, looking at her face, he saw that she was fast asleep against him. "You sleep good," he whispered softly into

her ear. He then pressed a very gently yet affectionate kiss onto her cheek. "Love you."

"Love you," Gabriella mumbled in her sleep.

"Alright," Troy said. "Let's go walk back to our house."

"Okay," Sharpay said.

"Coming," called Zeke, who had gone over to look at some candy bars.

They all walked back to the door and left, starting down the sidewalk towards home. As soon as they got in the

driveway, Gabriella's eyes opened. "Wildcat, what's going on?" she asked sleepily.

"People are coming to pick our lock open so we can get in," Troy said, beginning to run his fingers over her

dark hair.

"Oh," Gabriella mumbled, closing her eyes again and drifting back off to sleep.

Five minutes later, the lock pickers came. They had the lock undone in twenty minutes. "Thanks," Troy said.

"I'll go pay you now." He went inside, wrote out a check, and gave it to the people who had picked the lock for

him.

"Thanks," they said.

Troy walked inside followed by Sharpay and Zeke. He went in the bedroom and laid Gabriella onto the bed,

covering her with blankets. Then, he got Sharpay and Zeke's sleeping bags and gave them to them. "Here you go,"

he said.

"Thanks," they both said, each taking one from Troy.

"I'm gonna go to bed sonce Gabby's already there," Troy said.

"Okay," Sharpay said.

"See you," Zeke told him

Troy walked into the bedroom, shutting the door quietly behind him, climbed into bed next to Gabriella, and

wrapped his arms around her.

"Troy?" Gabriella asked. She had woken up.

"We're inside now. Go back to sleep," Troy said, kissing her cheek and pulling her closer to him.

"Okay," Gabriella said. "Good night, Wildcat."

"Good night, my love," Troy said.

"Can you give me a kiss good night?" asked Gabriella.

Troy nodded and pressed his lips onto Gabriella's making her smile and kiss him back. When they were done,

they snuggled close to each other, closed their eyes, and went to sleep.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

**If you read my oneshot Never Been Loved, could you please vote in my poll on my profile? I am thinking of **

**doing a sequel, but I want to see if anyone would read it before I write it. I'm gonna finish this story before**

**I do anything else, though. Thanks!**


	9. I Know We're Meant to Be

"Wildcat," Gabriella said, half asleep, gently nudging Troy's shoulder with her chin as she snuggled deeper

into Troy and fell back into a deep sleep. "I love you," she said in her sleep. "I love you so much! Don't leave

me!" she said in an upset voice.

"Gabby?" Troy asked, opening his eyes halfway. He gently shook Gabriella awake. "You were talking in your

sleep, baby girl," he told her.

"Oh," Gabriella mumbled, still not fully awake. "Sorry."

"It's okay. Were you having a bad dream?" Troy asked. "You sounded pretty upset." He gently stroked her

cheek with his fingers.

Gabriella opened her eyes further and replied, "I had a dream about what happened last night, only you didn't

apologize to me. Instead, you said you hated me and never wanted to see me again. Then you hit me instead of

kissed me." A tear rolled down her cheek. "And I kept saying I loved you and you kept saying 'I don't love you

anymore.' Then you pushed me down and left. And then you woke me up."

"It was just a dream," Troy reassured her gently, pulling her closer to his side and pressing a few kisses onto

her cheeks. "I love you and I will never stop. I'll love you forever. And again, I am so sorry I hurt you yesterday.

I promise to try to never do that again. I'm really sorry I got angry, and I will try harder than I can to control

myself next time. It was entirely my fault and I upset you. I'm not gonna make up excuses or blame you, I'm just

gonna admit what I did was wrong. I love you and if I ever hurt you like that again, I will punish myself."

"Thanks," Gabriella said, wrapping her arms around Troy. Then she started laughing.

"What's so funny?" asked Troy, gently stroking her hair.

"How are you gonna punish yourself?" she asked, still laughing.

"I'll say 'Troy Bolton, you are grounded. No basketball and no TV for a month.' Then I'll say 'Okay, I guess I'll

have to listen to myself.'"

Gabriella laughed harder. "Troy, you are so crazy, but I love you so much."

Troy smiled at her before leaning over to look at the clock. "It's three o' clock a.m.," he said. "Let's try to get

some more rest. Okay?" He kissed Gabriella's nose.

Gabriella nodded. "But can you kiss me before I try to go back to sleep?" she asked, lifting her head to look

into Troy's eyes.

"Okay," Troy said. He pressed his lips onto Gabriella's and the kissed passionately. Soon, Gabriella had rolled

over onto Troy and Troy was hugging her close to him, love-biting her bottom lip. Finally, they broke apart.

Gabriella rolled back over onto the bed, but Troy still held her close to his side, now pressing kisses onto her

head.

"Troy, your kisses feel so good," Gabriella said, closing her eyes so she could relax and feel comforted by

Troy's kisses. Soon, she fell asleep again.

"I love you, too," Troy whispered. He pulled the covers further over her before resting his head on Gabriella's

and falling asleep with Gabriella in his arms.

________________________________________________________________________________________

The next morning, Troy and Gabriella walked out of their room and saw Sharpay and Zeke playing on the Wii

in the living room. "Hey, Gabriella, hey Troy," Sharpay said. She was still wearing her hot pink pajama pants and

her light pink pajama shirt. "Zeke, I'm winning," she said.

"Hey, Sharpay," Troy and Gabriella both said at the same time. "What are you playing?" asked Troy.

"Soccer," Zeke answered, not looking away from the TV screen. "And Sharpay is surprisingly good at it."

"Zeke, I don't have to stink at playing sports for fake just cause I can't play them for real," Sharpay argued.

"Okay, okay, don't get all mad at me," Zeke said. "Anyway, I think I let you win."

"You're mean!" Sharpay said, pretending to be really mad.

"Does anyone want breakfast?" asked Gabriella. "We have cereal, fruit, eggs, bacon, toast. She started listing

all the breakfast foods they had.

"We'll just have some cereal," Sharpay said. "Is that okay, Zeke?" she asked, turning towards Zeke.

"Sure, whatever," Zeke said, still engrossed in the game.

"Just give him cereal, too," Sharpay told Gabriella. "He's too engrossed in the game, so I'm answering for

him."

"Yeah, that sounds like someone else," Gabriella commented, looking up at Troy with a smile on her face.

"What? I answer you!" Troy exclaimed in protest to Gabriella's look.

"Yeah, that time when we were playing basketball you didn't," Gabriella reminded him. "You just kept staring

at the screen."

Flashback

_Troy and Gabriella were playing basketball on the Wii. Troy was winning. "Oh, yeah," he said._

_"Wildcat, I have to go to the bathroom," Gabriella told Troy. "Can you pause the game for a minute?"_

_"Yeah, sure, whatever you want, baby girl," Troy replied. But he made no move to pause it. He just kept _

_making his person run across the screen. _

_"Wildcat, did you hear what I said?" Gabriella asked._

_"Yup," Troy said. "I'm beating you. Sorry. Maybe next time I'll go easy on you."_

_Gabriella grabbed the TV remote and pressed the power button, turning off the TV. _

_Troy stared at the blank screen for a few seconds before saying, "Um, Gabby, something's wrong with the _

_TV."_

_"No, I turned it off because you weren't listening to me," Gabriella said, going over to Troy to hug him._

_"What did you say?" asked Troy, hugging Gabriella back. "And what's the hug for?"_

_"I said I had to go to the bathroom and I asked you to pause the game, and I'm hugging you because you're _

_crazy and I love you for it," Gabriella told Troy._

_"Oh, sorry," Troy said. "I guess I wasn't paying attention. Now go to the bathroom!"_

Flashback over

"Honey, that was one time," Troy told Gabriella kissing her cheek. "And I was even winning by twenty

points!"

"I love my crazy Wildcat," Gabriella said to Troy, kissing his cheek in return and hugging him. "And you're

lucky I do."

"Yes, very lucky," Troy said as he hugged her back. "Now let's go get breakfast."

________________________________________________________________________________________

An hour later, everyone was sitting down and talking. "You're shivering," Troy said to Gabriella.

Gabriella pressed close to Troy. "Yes, I'm really cold," she said to him. "Can you get all the shivers out?"

she asked.

Troy picked Gabriella up, stood, then carried her around the living room. "I'm never letting you go!" he

said.

Sharpay and Zeke laughed. "This visit gets crazier and crazier," Sharpay said.

"Wildcat , you're not getting my shivers out!" Gabriella said, laughing. "And I'm falling!"

Troy held Gabriella more securely and went into the bedroom, gently pushing her down on the bed. "Got

you," he said. "I won!"

"No, the game just started," Gabriella told him. She pulled him down onto the bed next to her and sat on top of

him. "There. Now I got you," she said. "Now get my shivers out."

"Gabby-" Troy started.

"Come on, Wildcat!" Gabriella said, bouncing up and down.

"Honey, that hurts!" Troy told her, affectionately grabbing her hands and pulling her down so she was laying

on top of him.

"Hi," Gabriella said, laughing.

"Hi," Troy said, also laughing. "Now guess what? You have to pay me if you want to stop shivering."

"How much?" asked Gabriella, looking straight into his eyes, which were full of affection for her. She guessed

her eyes looked the same to him.

"One kiss," Troy said, wrapping his arms around her.

"Deal," Gabriella agreed, leaning foreword to press her lips onto his.

Troy kissed Gabriella back, then stood up, holding Gabriella in his arms. He got a blanket from the closet and

wrapped her up in it. "Better?" he asked.

Gabriella nodded and rested her head on his shoulder. "Much better," she told him.

When Troy and Gabriella went back into the living room, Zeke asked, "What took you so long?"

"We were playing around with each other," Troy told him, sitting down with Gabriella snuggled in his lap.

"Oh, well we just wanted to say that we have to leave around four."

"Okay," Troy said, wrapping his arms tighter than they were around Gabriella and pulling her extremely close

to him, causing her to smile and snuggle further into him.

"What do you want to do?" asked Sharpay.

"Um, I don't know," Gabriella said. "We haven't gone to the mall yet."

"Can we go?" asked Sharpay. "I brought tons of money and I so want to spend it!"

"You can't have it without spending it, can you?" asked Zeke.

Sharpay just laughed.

"Troy, I need to get down," Gabriella said, looking into Troy's eyes and pretending to pout.

"No, you never do," Troy corrected her. "You just choose to. But I'll be nice enough to let you down."

Gabriella smiled at her fiancé and slowly allowed herself to slip out of his warm arms that had been keeping

her cozy. "I want you again," Gabriella decided as soon as she felt coldness. She jumped back into his lap. "Keep

me warm, please?" she pleaded.

"Okay," Troy said to her, giving her an affectionate kiss on the cheek. "But I thought you wanted to go

shopping?"

"Can you hold me while we go out to the car?" asked Gabriella.

"Okay, but you're paying me overtime," Troy said.

"How much is overtime?" asked Gabriella, smiling as she laughed slightly.

"Two kisses," Troy told Gabriella, pulling her closer to him and running his fingers through her soft hair.

"Alright," Gabriella said. She started kissing Troy. He kissed back, then they kissed a second time, both very

passionately and affectionately, like all their kisses were.

"Okay, then," Troy said, He stood up, then picked her up so she was being held in his arms and he was gently

stroking her hair.

"Are you ready?" asked Sharpay, grabbing her hot pink purse off the floor.

"Yeah," Gabriella said.

"I am, too," Troy told her. "Just hold on a sec while I get my keys. They're on the dining room table." He

walked over to the table, grabbed his keys, then walked out the door, Gabriella in his arms and Sharpay and Zeke

following. "This time we won't get locked out," he said.

"That was a disaster," Sharpay said. "I thought you would have to break your door down to get in!"

Everyone laughed. Troy pushed the button to unlock the car, then everyone got in. Troy put Gabriella down in

the passenger seat since he couldn't have her on his lap while he was driving. "I know you're attatched to me," he

said to her, "But I can't drive with you in my lap."

"I know," Gabriella said. "I guess I can sit next to you. But I want my money back."

"What?" asked Troy, turning to look at her. "Fine," he decided, pretending he was annoyed with her. He gave

her a kiss. She kissed back, then Troy started the car and drove to the mall.

Once the car was parked, everyone got out and walked inside. "Yay! Escalators! I love these things!" Sharpay

said. "I sometimes just go on them for fun. Who's coming?"

Everyone followed Sharpay. They went up and down the escalators a few times before deciding to go look in a

store.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Two hours later, everyone decided to go home and eat a late lunch before Sharpay and Zeke had to leave. "I

can make sandwiches," Troy offered to Gabriella. "So you just sit and relax." He gently kissed her forehead. "I

love you."

"I love you, too," Gabriella said back. "More than anything."

Sharpay and Gabriella, the only ones who had bought stuff, made sure they had all their bags before they left

to go home. They all got in the car, Troy drove home, then everyone went inside.

"I'm gonna go make sandwiches," Troy said. "Is ham and cheese okay?"

"Yes," everyone answered.

"Are you sure you don't want help, Wildcat?" asked Gabriella.

"Baby girl, relax. I want you to have a good time, not do all the work. I'm healthy, I can work," Troy assured

Gabriella, quickly pressing a kiss onto her cheek before walking into the kitchen.

"You and Troy are such a cute couple," Sharpay commented to Gabriella.

"Yeah," Gabriella said half to herself, smiling dreamily as she thought of how sweet Troy was to her.

"So your wedding's in a month and a half," Sharpay said as she sat down on the sofa. Zeke sat next to her and

Gabriella sat on the other side of Sharpay.

"Yeah," Gabriella agreed. "We can't wait. I guess you got the invitation," she added.

"Yes," Sharpay said. "I'm so excited to go. It's a cool idea to have it be informal. Then it will be different from

every other wedding I've gone to."

"I want the focus to be on the love Troy and I have for each other, not on how fancy the dresses are and how

expensive the food is," Gabriella explained.

"Well it's a cool idea. Especially to have it at the exact place in the exact same room you first saw each other,"

Sharpay said.

"And I don't have to dress up!" Zeke said excitedly. "I hate dressing up!"

"Oh, and guess what? When Troy called to reserve the room for our wedding, the same guy who made us sing

together answered the phone and we both thanked him for making us sing that night," Gabriella told Sharpay.

"Oh my gosh! That is so cool!" Sharpay exclaimed.

Just then, Troy came into the room carrying four plates. "Here," he said, handing Sharpay and Zeke each a

plate. "Honey, do you want to sit on my lap to eat?" Troy asked his fiancé.

Gabriella nodded and stood up so Troy could sit down. Then, she sat on his lap, leaned back, and ate her

lunch. "You made a good lunch, Wildcat," she told him.

"Thanks, my love," Troy said to Gabriella.

"Want to try my sandwich?" asked Gabriella.

"Baby girl, you have the same kind of sandwich I have," Troy pointed out.

"Well I can try yours," Gabriella said.

"I think you just want me to feed you," Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. "I like it when you feed me," she said.

Troy held a piece of her sandwich out for her to take a bite of. "Here," he said.

Gabriella took a bite, then let Troy take a bite out of hers. "Is it good?" she asked.

Troy nodded, still chewing.

"I love you," Gabriella told Troy.

"Love you, too," Troy said to Gabriella, affectionately squeezing her and kissing her cheek.

________________________________________________________________________________________

At fur o' clock, Troy and Gabriella said bye to Sharpay and Zeke as they were leaving. Then, they cuddled up

on the sofa to relax with each other. "I really love you," Troy told Gabriella. "And I'm sorry for being mean to

you on Saturday."

"Wildcat, you apologized several times," Gabriella said. "It's okay. I love you and I always will love you. It

just breaks my heart when I make you mad because I don't want to hurt you. Ever." She looked into his eyes.

"Honey, don't let your heart break," Troy told his fiancé, gently stroking her cheek with his fingers. "I was the

one being mean and rude, not you. Don't worry about it."

Gabriella smiled and let her head rest on his shoulder. "You are so sweet," she said.

"No, you're so sweet," Troy corrected her.

"I can tell we're gonna be alright after we're married," Gabriella said. "Because you never want to hurt me and

I never want to hurt you."

"That's what happens when you're in love," Troy told Gabriella softly, kissing her nose.

"Have you been in love before?" Gabriella asked.

"No, not before you," Troy quickly said. "You're my first and last love. I'll never love anyone else like I love

you, baby girl."

Gabriella threw her arms around Troy. "And another thing that makes us get along so well is that we have an

extremely close relationship," she said.

"Yeah," Troy agreed. "I never keep secrets from you and you never keep them from me." He hugged Gabriella

back.

"I know. Ever since we started our senior year, we all of a sudden got really really close," Gabriella said.

Troy kissed Gabriella's cheek. "It was more gradual than we thought. We just didn't really notice until then."

Gabriella agreed with Troy. "Love you," she said.

"Love you," Troy said back.

"Troy, you know how we kept getting interrupted while we were trying to have our first kiss?" asked

Gabriella.

Troy nodded. "Why?"

"Because I want to make up for it now."

"I love you," Troy said, pressing his lips onto Gabriella's and kissing her passionately. Gabriella kissed him

back. They kissed a few more times before Troy looked straight into Gabriella's eyes, the prettiest eyes he ever

saw, and said, "Meeting you was the best thing that ever happened to me. I thought it was gonna be joining the

NBA before I saw you."

Gabriella let a few happy tears run down her cheeks. "I thought going to Stanford was gonna be the be best

thing that ever happened to me. But when I looked into your eyes for the first time, I knew meeting you had to

be the best."

"And I almost didn't go to that party. I wanted to practice basketball."

"And I wanted to study."

"But what I thought was gonna be the worst night in my entire life, turned out to be the best night ever. And to

me, it wasn't the start of a new year. It was the start of falling in love."

Gabriella kissed Troy's cheek. "I know it was," she said softly.

"Gabriella, you mean everything to me," Troy said.

"So do you, Wildcat," Gabriella said. "And I love you. I love you more than anything."

"Love you more than anything, too," Troy said. "I really love you."

"Troy, did you want to give up the NBA?" asked Gabriella.

"Yes," Troy said without hesitating. "I would rather have you."

"And I'm so lucky you would," Gabriella said.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

The next day was Monday, meaning that there was college. Gabriella set the alarm clock for six o' clock

before getting into bed next to Troy, who was lying there awake waiting for her to come with him. "Hi, baby

girl," he said as he felt Gabriella wrap her arms around him from behind.

"Hey, Wildcat," Gabriella said, snuggling against her fiancé.

Just before they were about to kiss each other good night, Gabriella's phone rang. "Who would be calling at

nine thirty at night?" she wondered aloud as she reached over to the end table to grab her phone. It was her mom.

"Hello, Mom?" she said after pushing the talk button.

"Gabriella, I have been bothered by something ever since the end of August. I know you're an adult, but you

never came back for college. I was expecting you on August 22nd," Mrs. Montez began.

"Mom, I'm in college," Gabriella said.

"You mean you're living at Stanford? Why didn't you tell me? I thought you skipped college or changed

colleges without telling me!" Mrs. Montez exclaimed. "Did you meet any nice boys there yet?"

"I'm not living at college," Gabriella said as she took a deep breath to prepare to tell her mom that her and

Troy had began renting an apartment and were still engaged. "And no, I haven't met any nice boys at Stanford."

"Well then where are you living?" asked Mrs. Montez.

"Listen, Mom. I know you're gonna be mad at me, but please try to understand me. I'm sorry your dream life

for me isn't working out how you wanted it to. But I don't want to marry a boy from Stanford and have a huge

wedding. I want to marry someone I love, not someone who has a lot of money who will buy an expensive house

and be able to give me an expensive wedding."

"I never said you couldn't love the boy, Gabriella. I just want everything to turn out right for you. I don't want

you to marry someone who has no money who will be forcing you to live on the streets someday because you

can't afford a house. I'm worried about you. I want you to be able to have stuff that you could never have when

you were still living with me. We had to move every year and I know you hated that. I want you to be happy and

be able to get married to someone who doesn't have to work as much and who had a lot of money because then

you won't have to move all the time because of a job. Isn't that what you what you always wanted? To be able to

just settle down and stay in one place?"

"Well I'm happy right now, and nothing could ever change that. I love Troy more than I could ever tell you or

even him. And he gave up so much to be with me. I am happier than I ever was in my life with him. And yes,

we're still engaged and we're renting a house in between our colleges so we can stay with each other. And we're

still gonna get married on New Year's Eve. After college we're gonna move back to Albuquerque and I'm gonna

teach geometry and chemistry at East High and Troy's gonna teach drama and help his dad coach basketball, so

we'll be working in the same building and we'll get to see each other all the time."

"But what about money?" asked Mrs. Montez. "I was thinking you would marry someone who was taking

courses to be a surgeon or something. They make lots of money."

"We'll be fine. We're fine now. Sharpay's rich, so she helped us be able to afford to pay rent and get stuff for

our house and we're looking for part-time jobs now. That way, it'll be like one of us working full-time," Gabriella

said.

"I'm confused," Mrs. Montez said. "So you are getting a part-time job and Troy's getting a full-time job?"

"No, we are both getting part-time jobs. That way, we will make as much money as if one of us had a full time

job," Gabriella explained.

"Okay, but it seems like you're never gonna have time to do anything fun."

"We're only gonna be working on weekends," Gabriella said. "And after college."

"How are you gonna work after college?"

"We're gonna go from college to our job. We're gonna work at the same place so we can see each other. We

should be able to start work around two-thirty and then end around six-thirty. Then we'll go home and eat dinner,

spend time with each other, and go to bed. It'll work out."

"Well I guess you can try."

"Well I've gotta go. I need to get to sleep. Bye."

"Bye."

Gabriella hung up and put her phone back on the end table. "That was my mom," she told Troy.

"I heard," Troy said. "I forgot we applied for jobs at the pet store." They had applied for the jobs about a

month ago, but the store had so many people applying, it would take a while for Troy and Gabriella to find out if

they got the jobs.

"We're gonna find out if we got them tomorrow," Gabriella said. "I hope we did because I like animals."

"Someday we'll get a pet," Troy promised.

"Wildcat, you're so sweet," Gabriella told Troy.

"No, you are," Troy said.

"Kiss me good night."

"Are you ordering me around?" asked Troy, pretending to be mad.

"Yes," Gabriella said, laughing.

Troy smiled and started kissing her. Gabriella kissed back. They licked each other's lips and Gabriella gently

love-bit Troy's. When they broke apart, Troy said, "I still haven't gotten over what a great kisser you are."

"You're pretty great, too," Gabriella said, looking into his eyes before snuggling into him. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Troy said, wrapping his arms around Gabriella and kissing her head.

Gabriella hugged Troy back. "Good night, Wildcat."

"Good night, my love," Troy said.

"Troy, I need to quick tell you something before I go to sleep," Gabriella said.

"What is it?" asked Troy.

"My mom's still annoyed that we're together. And she wants me to marry someone from Stanford still."

"Why?"

"She thinks you won't make enough money. And I wanted to tell you because I never keep secrets from you

and it bothers me that she doesn't want you to be my husband."

"Don't worry. Do you want to be my wife?"

"More than anything, Wildcat."

"Then just ignore it. Don't answer next time she calls. Okay?" Troy began gently stroking her hair.

"Okay. Thanks, Wildcat. Good night."

"Good night, baby girl. I'll always love you."

"I'll always love you, too."

Then Troy and Gabriella closed their eyes and, knowing they would always have each other, fell into a deep,

peaceful sleep.


	10. Breaking a Bone

Gabriella walked out of one of her classes at college when she heard her cell phone ring from inside her purse.

She took it out and saw that it was Troy. She pressed the talk button and said, "Hey, Wildcat, what's going on?"

"Gabby, I got hurt," Troy said gently, trying not to worry her.

But Gabriella instantly became worried and tears filled her eyes. If it was serious, she could lose him and that

would break her heart. "How bad?" she asked anxiously.

Troy could hear the worry in her voice. "Well I was playing basketball when one of the players tripped me by

accident and made me fall really hard on the floor and I hurt my ankle really bad. I am at the hospital now. It

might be broken. Please don't worry, baby girl," he said.

"Are you at the hospital closest to our house?" asked Gabriella. "And if you have to be at the hospital, I'm

worried. Do you promise you'll be okay?"

"Gabby, it's just my ankle. I'm not gonna die. I can't leave you; I couldn't leave you," Troy reassured her.

"Well I'm gonna come see you," Gabriella told him. "Just let me quick tell someone I have to skip the rest of my

classes for the day because you're hurt. I'm gonna have to take you home. Do you have someone who can drive your

car back home?"

"Yeah, someone at college," Troy replied.

"Okay, well I'll be there as soon as I can, Wildcat. Love you," Gabriella said.

"Love you, too, Gabby. Don't worry too much," Troy told her.

"I'll try not to. Bye."

"Bye baby girl."

Gabriella closed her phone and rushed to tell someone that she had to go. She was immediately given

permission. She ran out the door, hurried into her car, and drove as fast as the speed limit would allow until she got

to the hospital. She quickly ran inside and asked where Troy was.

"He's in the waiting room. There were more severe emergencies than a hurt ankle," said the lady at the desk.

"Thank you," Gabriella said, rushing off to find Troy. Though in her head, she was annoyed that he was in pain

and was being made to wait. She thought he should at least have a room so he could lay down. She went into the

waiting room and ran over to Troy, throwing her arms around him and kissing his cheek. "Are you okay?" she

asked.

Troy hugged her back. "Yes, it just hurts really bad," he reassured her.

Gabriella looked down at his ankle and saw that it was bruised and swollen. "Troy, I'm going to complain. You

should at least have ice and be able to put your foot up on something. That's what you're supposed to do." She

sounded annoyed. She went over to one of the nurses and asked very politely, "Excuse me, but could I have some

ice for my fiancé and could he have something to put his foot on so he'll be more comfortable? He hurt his ankle

really bad and he's in pain."

The nurse wasn't so polite. "Hello? Lady, we have people dying here. We can't waste time on a hurt ankle. He'll

live. Get over it. He'll just have to bear the pain. Now leave me alone!" she snapped as she pushed Gabriella out of

the way so she could go down the hallway.

"I want to see a manager or something!" Gabriella called after her. "I'm not happy with this dumb service!

You're a hospital and you're supposed to care about people!" She angrily went back over to Troy and sat down in

the chair next to him.

"If my foot wasn't in pain, I would go over there and push her for pushing you!" Troy yelled. "You know what?

I don't even care. I'm gonna go and push her now! No one can hurt you and get away with it!" He tried to stand up.

"Wildcat, Wildcat, sit down. I don't want you hurt any further," Gabriella said. "I asked to talk to a manager so

you complain then."

"Are there even managers in a hospital?" asked Troy.

"There would have to be someone in charge," Gabriella said.

About five minutes later, a lady with blonde hair and glasses walked over to Troy and Gabriella. "So you wanted

to see me?" she asked.

"Yes," Gabriella said. "Troy's ankle is hurt and swollen, he's in pain, no one will give me ice," she started

crying. Troy put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her as close to him as he could since they were sitting in

separate chairs. Gabriella leaned against him. "And t-this nurse y-yelled at me and b-basically said T-Troy d-didn't

m-matter."

She buried her head in Troy's shoulder and cried harder. "B-but he m-means e-everything to m-me and I-I d-don't

w-want him t-to b-be i-in pain."

The lady looked concerned. "Don't worry," she said. "I'll get him some ice now and we have tons of rooms of he

wants to lie down. But what exactly did the nurse say?"

"S-she said, 'Hello? Lady, we have people d-dying here. We c-can't w-waste time o-on a h-hurt ankle. H-he'll

live. G-get o-over i-it. He'll just h-have t-to b-bear the p-pain. Now l-leave me a-alone!'"

"And then she pushed her," Troy added.

"Okay, I'll have to look into it. What did she look like?" the lady asked.

"She had dark hair and was tall," Gabriella began. "She h-had her h-hair in a ponytail and she was w-wearing a

l-light purple shirt and r-red lipstick. T-that's all I-I c-can remember." She felt Troy press a gentle kiss onto her

head.

"Okay," the lady said. "I think I know who you're talking about. I'll get the ice. Just wait here a minute." She

walked away hurriedly and returned about a minute later with an ice pack. "Here," she said, handing it to Troy.

"Do you want to go lay down?" she asked.

"Yes," Troy said.

"Okay, I'll go get crutches so you can walk. But be very careful." She left again and came back in a few minutes.

"Here are the crutches. And by the way, my name's Kristy. I'm the head nurse here." She took the ice pack from

Troy so he could stand up and use the crutches.

"Thanks," Troy said. Then, turning to Gabriella he said, "I'm gonna have to let go of you, baby. I'm sorry." He

pressed a kiss onto her head before unwrapping his arm from her and taking the crutches so he could walk.

"Be careful on those, Wildcat," Gabriella warned Troy.

"I will, my love. Don't worry," Troy told her.

When they got into the room, Troy laid down on the bed and Kristy gave the ice pack back to him. "Here you

go," she said. "Put it on your ankle and keep your leg straight on the bed. Don't move it. A doctor will be in as soon

as possible. Can I get you anything else?"

"Could I have some water?" asked Troy.

"Sure," Kristy said. She turned towards Gabriella and asked, "Do you want anything to drink?"

"Could I have some water, too, please?" she asked.

"Okay. I'll be back in a few minutes." Kristy left the room.

"Baby girl, come here," Troy said to Gabriella, moving over on the bed and putting his hand on the empty side

to show Gabriella he wanted her on the bed with him.

Gabriella climbed onto the bed carefully so as not to disturb Troy's ankle and cause him more pain. She laid

down with Troy's arm around her waist. She put her head on his chest and felt him softly kiss her forehead. "I'm

feeling so bad for you right now," Gabriella said.

"Honey, don't get too upset. I love you and I hate to see myself causing you so much worry."

"Do you want me to help your pain go away with kisses?" asked Gabriella. Troy had done the same to her when

she was sick, so she wanted to return the favor.

"Sounds great," Troy said.

As weird as it might have seemed, Troy and Gabriella were kissing passionately in a hospital bed. When they

broke apart, Gabriella started laughing. "Baby girl, what's so funny?" Troy asked.

"Do you realize we were kissing in a hospital bed?" Gabriella asked, still smiling.

Troy started laughing. "I'm glad to see you happier," he told Gabriella, kissing her nose and gently stroking her

dark hair as she rested her head back on his chest.

Just then, Kristy came into the room with the water. "Here you go," she said. She put both cups on the table that

could be moved so whoever was in the hospital bed could eat in bed. "It looks like you're feeling better," she

commented. "You're both smiling."

"Gabby's taking good care of me," Troy told her.

"Well now the doctor will know you'll be okay when you go home," Kristy said. "Well I'm gonna go to see

another patient now. Hopefully the doctor will be with you very soon." She left the room again.

"Troy, can you hand me my water?" asked Gabriella, since Troy was closest to the table.

"Okay," Troy said. He handed Gabriella her water and took his, too.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Half an hour later, the doctor walked in. "Hi," he said. "I'm Doctor Preston." The doctor came over to shake

hands with both Troy and Gabriella. "So how did you hurt your ankle?" he asked Troy.

"Someone accidentally tripped me while I was playing basketball," Troy said.

"Alright, well you're gonna have to have an x-ray of your ankle to see if it's broken or not," Dr. Preston told

Troy. "But first you're gonna have to give me some information. What's your name?"

"Troy Bolton."

"And your birthday?"

"November 4, 1990."

"So you're nineteen years old now?"

"Yes."

"And is this your girlfriend?"

"Fiancé," Troy corrected. "We're getting married on New Years' Eve."

"You're getting married early," the doctor commented.

"Yeah, we get that a lot," Troy said.

"Alright, well I'll need you to come into the x-ray room. Your fiancé can come, too if she wants. What's her

name?"

"Gabriella Montez."

"Alright, Miss Montez, do you want to come?" Dr. Preston turned to Gabriella.

"Yes," Gabriella said.

"Alright, well Mr. Bolton, please follow me. Use your crutches. Miss Montez, please help him if he needs help."

"Okay," Gabriella said.

Troy and Gabriella followed the doctor into the x-ray room. Troy sat down in the chair and put his foot up on

the x-ray table. "Okay, Miss Montez, you're gonna have to leave the room for just one minute while I take the x-

ray," Dr. Preston said.

"Okay," Gabriella said reluctantly. She went over to kiss Troy before leaving. "Love you," she called behind

her.

"Love you, too, baby girl," Troy said back.

Two minutes later, Gabriella was allowed back in the room. "Mr. Bolton, your ankle is broken, but not badly.

I've seen worse," Dr. Preston was saying. "You'll have to have a cast, though."

"Will it be off before our wedding?" Troy asked hopefully.

"You'll need it on for a month, so you'll get it off mid-December," the doctor replied.

"Great," Troy said.

"Will he have to get it now?" asked Gabriella.

"Yes, it would be better. But we'll have to go into his room again. You can go back awhile; I'll get the supplies

and meet you there."

"Okay," Gabriella said. "Wildcat, can you get up okay?"

"Yeah," Troy said. He used his crutches to help him stand up, then followed Gabriella back into the hospital

room. He laid down on the bed and Gabriella lay next to him like she was before.

In about five minutes, the doctor came back in and said, "Alright, now let me see your ankle, Mr. Bolton." He

came over to the bed and put his stuff down next to him. "This might hurt a little bit," he said. "I'm gonna try to

move your foot as little as possible, but you might still feel some pain."

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Half an hour later, the doctor was finished. "There you go. Now there are a few instructions. Always walk

using your crutches, for one. And don't use your hurt ankle, which means don't walk on that foot."

"Can I take these crutches home?" asked Troy.

Dr. Preston nodded. "Yes, you can. And also do not get your cast wet at all. It might get annoying, but it'll be

worth it when your ankle heals."

"Okay," Troy said.

"And I'm sure you already know you can't play basketball."

"Yeah," Troy said. "I figured that out."

"Alright, well you can leave the hospital now. Call immediately if your pain gets worse."

"Okay. Thanks."

"You're welcome."

"Wildcat, do you need help?" Gabriella asked.

"No, my love, I'm okay," Troy said.

"Alright," Gabriella said. "Well let's go."

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Once Troy and Gabriella were at home, Gabriella immediately was asking Troy if he needed anything and

started making him comfortable. "I'll snuggle with you," she offered.

"Okay," Troy said. He was already sitting on the sofa, so Gabriella sat next to him and snuggled up to his warm

body.

"Why are you always warm?" she asked, looking up into his eyes.

"Because you're always cold. I have to be warm so I can keep you warm," Troy said. He hugged her close to

him.

"Does your ankle hurt bad still?"

"It's slightly better," Troy said.

"Remember, I'll always be here for you. Just ask me if you need anything," Gabriella reminded him.

"Okay, honey. I'll get you if I need anything."

"Oh, and there's some good news today."

"What?"

"We both got the jobs at the pet store."

"Yes!" Troy said. "When do we start?"

"Next week. But if you can't work, then it's fine."

"If I can sit down, I'll be fine," Troy told Gabriella.

"Okay, great," Gabriella said. "I'm so sorry you got hurt."

"It's not your fault, baby girl," Troy reassured her. "It was an accident. And I know you'll take care of me,

though I wish I could help you with more stuff."

"It's okay, Wildcat. You took care of me when I was sick."

"Well it was my job."

"Well it's my job to take care of you," Gabriella said.

"Gabby, I love you so much," Troy said.

"Wildcat, I love you, too," Gabriella said in return.

Then they kissed, passionately yet affectionately. They really did love each other more than anything in the

world.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Just to let you all know, I looked up information on broken bones, so hopefully everything I said was true...LOL. **


	11. Leaving Stanford

"Wildcat, are you tired?" asked Gabriella.

Troy nodded. "Let me see if I can go in our room. It's a good thing we don't have stairs in our house."

"I know," Gabriella said. "If we had an upstairs bedroom, we would have to sleep down here because I wouldn't

leave you and I can't sleep by myself anymore. You spoiled me because you kept letting me snuggle with you in

your bed and now I'm so used to it."

"I can't say no to you," Troy said, gently kissing her cheek. "Alright, now I'll race you to our room."

"Really, Wildcat? I have an advantage. I have no broken bones. It wouldn't be fair," Gabriella said.

"I know. I wish I could walk," Troy said.

"Wildcat, it's not like you'll never be able to walk again!" Gabriella said. "You'll get better. I'll take care of

you."

"Thanks, Gabby," Troy said, kissing her cheek again and standing up using his crutches. "Let's go."

Once they both finally made it into their bedroom, Troy sat down on the bed and carefully put his legs on the

bed. Gabriella climbed in next to him. "Um, Wildcat, how are we gonna do this?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" asked Troy.

"How are we gonna snuggle so that we can be comfy but I don't hurt your ankle more?" asked Gabriella.

"Well I'm gonna have to lay on my back," Troy said. "You can lay however you want just not on top of me."

"Okay," Gabriella said. She rolled over onto her side. "Is this okay?" she asked, gently snuggling into Troy's

side.

"Yeah, that's fine." Troy put his arm around her body. "Just don't kick in your sleep. Or try not to."

"I'll try not to. And anyway, I'm shorter than you so if I do accidentally kick you, I would kick your leg."

"Okay. You can put your head on my chest if you want. It won't hurt me."

Gabriella leaned against Troy's chest and felt him start to gently stroke her curls and press kisses onto her

cheeks. He pulled the covers over them and tried to make Gabriella as comfortable as possible by tucking her in

warmly. "Wildcat, can you kiss me goodnight?" asked Gabriella.

Troy leaned down to make his lips meet with Gabriella's. They kissed each other slowly, taking their time as

they gently love-bit each other. When they couldn't breathe anymore, they broke apart reluctantly. "I love you,

baby girl," Troy told Gabriella, pulling her close.

"I love you, too, Wildcat," Gabriella said in return. "Oh, is it okay if I go to college tomorrow and come back

here over lunch to make you lunch?" asked Gabriella. "I'll get you some breakfast before I go."

"Okay," Troy said. "That'll be fine. Thanks for skipping your lunch."

"I'll eat a quick granola bar while I'm driving or something. I need to help you, though."

"Thanks," Troy said. "I'm gonna be out of college for a while. Wait-I can still do theater, just not basketball.

And I can only read lines, not do actions, but I can still go. But I can't drive. Could you drive me?"

"Of course," Gabriella said. "We'll have to leave a little early. Or I can call Stanford and say I'll be a little late.

We've been missing a lot of college lately."

"Yeah, with you being sick and me breaking a bone. Well Thanksgiving break is starting next week and we'll

be on it for two weeks, so we only have four more college days before vacation. We get more time off than in high

school."

"But we start earlier in the year," Gabriella pointed out.

"Yeah, that's true," Troy agreed.

"Well I'm getting tired." Gabriella reached over Troy to turn out the light. "Good night. I love you."

"Love you, too, baby girl. Good night."

Then, Troy and Gabriella both fell fast asleep.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Gabriella sleepily blinked her brown eyes open at the beeping sound of the alarm clock. She was still snuggled

against Troy's chest, so she lifted her head and reached over Troy to shut the alarm off. Then, she gently kissed

Troy's cheek and nuzzled his shoulder until he opened his eyes half-way and said, "Good morning, my love." Troy

never woke up to the alarm clock.

"Good morning, my sleepy Wildcat," Gabriella said, pushing Troy's bangs out of his face and kissing his

forehead. "It's time to get ready."

"Okay," Troy said. He opened his eyes all the way, sat up, and grabbed his crutches which were right by the

bed. "I hate using crutches," he told Gabriella. "When I was little, I always wanted crutches, and my mom would

always say that I wouldn't like them if I had to have them. We had a pair of old ones at out house from when my

mom broke her leg before I was born and I used to play on them."

"Why?" asked Gabriella, laughing.

"Because I thought they were fun. Then one day, I decided to try to use them as stilts and I stood on a chair and

tried to put my feet on the part where your hands go. I fell off the chair, hit my head on our sofa, and started crying

and saying, 'Mommy! Mommy! I got hurt!'" He laughed.

Gabriella started laughing hysterically. "That is so funny," she said. "How old were you?"

"About four. I was in preschool then and I remember my mom said I told Chad about it and I was just like,

'Chad, I had stilts and I fell off of them and hit my head!'"

"That's too funny, Wildcat," Gabriella said. "Now let's go get ready for college."

"Alright." Troy stood up and asked, "Wanna take a shower with me?"

"That would be great, Wildcat, but you can't get your cast wet," Gabriella said.

"So I'm supposed to smell like sweat and dirt for a month?" asked Troy, annoyed that he was hurt.

"Here, I'll help you. Just try to wash yourself up a little bit with a towel and some soap," Gabriella said,

standing up.

"Okay," Troy said. "I hate being helpless. I want to be able to do things again."

"I know, Troy," Gabriella said. "It must be hard. I've never broken a bone, so I can't say anything about it

feeling annoying, but I imagine it would be."

"It is," Troy said. "I'm never gonna let you break a bone."

"Thanks, Wildcat," Gabriella said.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

An hour later, Troy and Gabriella were ready to leave. They had eaten waffles for breakfast, which Gabriella

made because she knew Troy loved them and she wanted to make him as happy as she could make him. She hated

seeing him in pain and desperate to be able to do stuff he was used to doing. "Alright, Wildcat, let's go to college,"

Gabriella said after they were both in her car. She drove to Berkeley, kissed Troy good bye, made sure he didn't

fall going in, and then began driving to Stanford. Once she was there, however, she was disappointed to find out

that she was behind in all her studies due to her being sick and missing half of the day the previous day because of

Troy being hurt. She was told she had to study harder or she would have to leave the college because apparently

"Stanford can't settle for Bs and Cs, you must get As." So then Gabriella decided that maybe she should switch

colleges. She thought about going to Berkeley with Troy. She thought she could take theater, too, since she liked

that is high school and she would get to see Troy and she would take chemistry since there wasn't a geometry

course there. She decided to tell Troy that night.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

"Wildcat, I have to tell you something," Gabriella said to Troy. "I decided I'm switching to Berkeley."

"Really? Gabby, that's great!" Troy hugged Gabriella and kissed her cheek gently. They were sitting on the

sofa, so Gabriella laid down with her head resting in Troy's lap, being careful not to make him move his leg. "Why

are you switching?" he asked.

"Stanford makes everyone get all As. It's so stupid. I'm gonna take theater with you and chemistry, since they

don't teach geometry."

"I'm so happy!" Troy said, taking both her hands in his and squeezing them lovingly while staring into her eyes.

"My baby's gonna be at my college!"

"My mom's gonna be really mad, but oh well," Gabriella said. "I don't like Stanford as much I thought I would.

It's so strict."

"At Berkeley you have to try to keep your grades between an A+ and a C+," Troy said.

"Great!" Gabriella said. "I'm gonna go on the computer and apply now. If we would've wanted to both go there

at first, then we could have asked to share a room there."

"Yeah," Troy said. "That would have been a good idea."

"But I like our house," Gabriella said. "Mostly because you live with me, though." She smiled.

"Okay, Gabby, so when are you starting at my college?"

"If I get in, hopefully after Thanksgiving vacation," Gabriella said.

"You'll have fun. I promise," Troy told her.

"I wanted to go to Stanford when I first started high school, but then I met you and I didn't really want to

anymore, but my mom really wanted me to and she told everyone I was going, and I didn't want to make her more

mad than she already was about us being engaged," Gabriella said. "But I'm just gonna quit there cause I don't

really like it at all. And after Allen kidnapped me there, it's like a crime scene or something."

Troy laughed. "I love you so much, you know that?"

"Yes, and I love you, too, Wildcat," Gabriella told him. "Now let me go online and apply for college."

"Okay," Troy said.

Gabriella went on the computer and submitted an application within about half an hour. "Okay, now we just

have to see if I get accepted."

"You will. You're so cute," Troy said.

"But the college doesn't let people in just because they're cute," Gabriella said. "Anyway, you love me, so you

think I'm cute and sweet and everything, but other people might not think so."

"But you are cute and sweet. No, you're adorable," Troy told her as she sat down on the sofa next to him and

snuggled into him.

"Thanks, Wildcat. You are so sweet," Gabriella said.

"Not as sweet as you," Troy argued.

"I love you," Gabriella said.

"I love you, too," Troy said back before kissing her cheek. "You are so sweet."

"Troy, do you want anything for dinner now?" asked Gabriella.

"What do you want to have?" Troy asked her.

"It's up to you. You're the one who's hurt."

"Do you feel like making something big or something small?" asked Troy.

"Whatever will make you happy," Gabriella answered.

"Sandwiches would be okay," Troy said. "You don't have to make anything big. I'm not that hungry."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. And I love you."

"Love you, too."

Gabriella went into the kitchen, made sandwiches, then brought them out to the living room so her and Troy

could sit on the sofa and eat them. They ate wherever they felt like it all the time. "Here, Wildcat," Gabriella said.

"Thanks, baby girl," Troy said.

"You're welcome," Gabriella said, sitting down next to Troy and starting to eat. "So, how are you feeling

today?" she asked.

"It hurts a little less," Troy told her. "I'm just annoyed that I have to stay off of it and that I can't drive."

"I'm sorry, Wildcat," Gabriella apologized.

"It's not your fault," Troy said. "Even if you were the one who accidentally tripped me, it would have been an

accident."

"If I made you get hurt, I would never forgive myself," Gabriella said.

"Aw, don't feel bad for me," Troy said. "I'll be fine. Mostly because I have you with me." He looked at her, put

his hand under her chin, and made her look at him. Then, he put down his plate, carefully pushed some hair behind

her ear, and kissed her nose. "I love you," he said.

"Love you, too," Gabriella said.

"And don't try to do too much by yourself," Troy told her.

"Wildcat, I have to take care of you," Gabriella said.

"Then I'll try my best to help you. Do you want me to get us something to drink?" Troy asked.

"No, Wildcat. You need to stay off your foot as much as possible even with the crutches. And how are you

going to carry cups while you're using crutches?"

"I would find a way," Troy said.

"You're crazy, you know that?"

"But you love that I'm crazy."

"Yeah, you're right."

"I love you, too," Troy said. he leaned foreword to kiss her on the lips.

Gabriella kissed Troy back. "You're so sweet," she said.

"No, you are." Troy took his hand away from her chin and started eating again. "I love you more every day," he

told her.

"I love you more every day, too," Gabriella said. "Every day I think it's impossible to love you more, but then I

wake up the next morning and realize it isn't."

"Baby girl, you are the sweetest girl in the world."

"Thanks," Gabriella said.

"So do you think you'll like being with me at college?" Troy asked.

"Of course," Gabriella said. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Well sometimes theater can get a little crazy," Troy said.

"How?" asked Gabriella. "Do people throw stuff or run around screaming?"

Troy laughed. "No," he said. "It just gets busy."

"Oh, well that won't be bad. Do you think I'll be able to sit next to you?"

"Yeah, you can pick where you want to sit in there, so you can sit next to me."

"I'm glad I'm leaving Stanford," Gabriella commented.

"I'm glad you're gonna be with me more," Troy said.

"I think I'll have a better time than at Stanford. I know college is supposed to be serious, but Stanford is so

serious they're strict about not getting anything below an A-."

"Did you ever get anything below an A-?"

"Yes. I got a warning that I would have to leave the college if I didn't bring my grades up."

"But you were sick for a couple days," Troy said.

"I know, and then I had to leave to go see you yesterday," Gabriella said.

"You didn't have to," Troy told her.

"I love you and I needed to make sure you were okay," Gabriella said. "I couldn't just forget you were hurt and

move on with my day."

"What grade did you even get?"

"A B-, then a B+, then a C+."

"You weren't even failing!"

"I know, but according to the college, I was."

"Well then it's a good thing you switched. I don't want you to feel stressed all the time."

"And I don't want to not spend time with you because I have to study all night."

"You mean, you were skipping studying?"

"Well, yeah. You're supposed to study for three hours a day and I would only study for one or one and a half."

"Three hours? That's ridiculous."

"Well I don't think they expect people to have to go home and make dinner and stuff. I think they think

everyone either lives at the college or still at home."

"Well you live at home."

"I think they mean like with their parents," Gabriella said. "But I'd rather live with you."

"Yeah, I'm glad we live together," Troy said.

"Me, too."

"Are you gonna tell your mom?" asked Troy.

"Wildcat, you told me not to answer if she calls anymore, so I'm gonna take your advice."

"Yeah, I think it's better if you and your mom have a break from talking to each other."

"I know. I think so, too. My mom is getting really annoyed about our wedding."

"I don't see why."

"Because she never had an expensive wedding and she found out she didn't like my dad after I was born, so she

took me and left when I was a baby so I never really knew my dad. I think she's just afraid that the same thing will

happen to me."

"Why did she all of a sudden hate your dad?"

"She never said why, and I don't remember anything from when I was a baby."

"Well we're gonna be alright together."

"I know that, Wildcat, but my mom doesn't. And she wants me to have her dream wedding when I want what

we both want. That's why I made sure you agreed to the wedding."

"I'm glad it's not fancy," Troy said.

"Me, too," Gabriella agreed.

"You know, I really love you."

"Love you, too, Wildcat."

"When you come to college with me, I'll show you around," Troy offered.

"Okay," Gabriella said. "Of course I'll want you to."

"Great. It's kind of easy to get lost in if you don't know your way around. I had to keep asking for directions for

the first week."

"I remember that," Gabriella said. "You told me."

"Well I tell you everything."

"Yeah, that's true," Gabriella said.

"Oh, baby girl, I just remembered something."

"What?"

"Your wedding ring," Troy said. "I never bought one and I'll need to soon. We'll have to go to a jewelry store

sometime and you can tell me which one you like."

"You don't need to get me a ring," Gabriella said.

"But I want to," Troy said. "And I don't expect anything from you."

"Wildcat, I'm gonna get you one, too, because that way everyone will know you're taken so we don't have the

problem of girls always wanting you to date them."

"They still might try, but I've gotten good at making them leave me alone."

"It's not your fault you're cute," Gabriella said.

"But I should try to look bad when I go places girls are gonna be."

Gabriella laughed. "Well I'm still getting you the ring."

"Yeah, I'm getting one for you, too."

"Get the cheapest one."

"I want to get one that you like."

"I'll love anything that you give me because I love you."

"Well we'll just have to look and see what there is to buy."

"Sounds good," Gabriella said. "I'm so excited for our wedding."

"Me, too," Troy agreed. "Though we already made promises to each other, it'll be nice to have it be legal and

official."

"I know. I can't wait. And when we go get our license, I'm gonna ask about changing my name."

"What? Why are you changing your name?" asked Troy, confused.

"My last name. To legally make my last name Bolton, I have to pay to have it changed. If I do it after we're

married, I'll still be Gabriella Bolton, but if I would be filling out papers or something, I would have to use Montez

because according to the United States, I would still be Gabriella Montez."

"This is confusing, but go ahead."

Gabriella laughed. "I know. I learned about all this."

"At East High?"

"Yes. You weren't in that class, though. We were learning about legal stuff. It was kind of weird."

"Well now you know how to do stuff, which means you're smart."

Gabriella smiled at Troy. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Troy said.


	12. You Know Me So Well

It was the first day of Thanksgiving break, and Gabriella just found out that Berkeley had accepted her.

"Wildcat!" she called.

"Yeah, Gabby?" Troy called back. He was sitting on the sofa in the living room since he pretty much couldn't

do anything but sit.

"I got accepted!" Gabriella said, running over to him to hug him.

"To my college?" asked Troy, hugging her back.

Gabriella nodded. "Yes!"

"That's great! Do you start after break?" Troy asked.

"Yeah. Let me call Stanford and tell them that I'm quitting college there," Gabriella said.

"Okay, go ahead, my love," Troy said, letting go of her. He watched her excitedly run to her phone and dial

the number to Stanford. A few minutes later, she said bye, than went back over to sit down next to Troy. "So, it

sounded like you're out of there," Troy said.

"Yup," Gabriella said, smiling. "They're gonna take my name off of the student list and I'm officially not going

to be a student there anymore."

"Great!" Troy said. He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to him. "So, are you excited to

go to Berkeley with me?"

Gabriella smiled and nodded before resting her head on Troy's shoulder. "Oh, don't forget, we start working at

the pet store tomorrow."

"Okay, what time do we have to be there?" asked Troy.

"We're working two-thirty to six-thirty," Gabriella told him.

"I'm so glad we got a job together, too. I hate being away from you, baby girl."

"I'm glad I quit Stanford. I'm gonna be happier with you, I think. Then you won't have to worry about kissing

strange girls. You can kiss me instead."

"There's only one problem with that," Troy told her.

"What's that?" asked Gabriella.

"I might forget I'm on a stage and kiss you too long," Troy told her. "Well, the directors would think it would

be too long. I wouldn't."

Gabriella laughed and snuggled into him. "I really love you," she said.

"Love you, too," Troy said. He kissed her nose.

"Did you want to have a Thanksgiving dinner this year?" asked Gabriella.

"Yeah," Troy said. "If you want to."

"I'll go get a turkey tomorrow before we have to leave for work."

"Can I come?"

"If you want, but you need to be very careful," Gabriella told him.

"I will," Troy assured her.

"Okay, good, because I don't want you hurt any more than you already are. Then you'll be on crutches at our

wedding and I know you'd hate that."

"You know me so well, Gabby."

Gabriella smiled. "I have to."

"Oh, your birthday is coming up soon. What do you want?"

"You don't need to buy me anything. I'll just take a few hugs and kisses."

"You can have that, but I was gonna give it to you anyway. You get that everyday. Is there something you

want me to go out and buy you for your birthday?"

"Wildcat, you can't drive, remember?"

"Oh, right." Troy looked disappointed. "I hate being hurt."

"Troy, it's okay. Just being with you makes me happy," Gabriella reassured him. She kissed him on the cheek

and hugged him. "You need to stop worrying, okay?"

"Alright, I'll try to. But only for you," Troy agreed, looking into her eyes.

Gabriella smiled at him and said, "Good. Now do you want any lunch? It's twelve-thirty."

"I can get something," Troy said.

"No, you can't; not if you want your ankle to heal," Gabriella protested, letting go of him and standing up.

"You need to stay here and wait while I make lunch. What do you want? Anything specific?"

"What do we have?" asked Troy.

Gabriella walked over to the refrigerator and opened it. "Let's see, we have ham, cheese, hot dogs, salad, and

egg salad."

"Can I have a hot dog?" asked Troy.

"Sure," Gabriella said. "You want ketchup and mustard on it, right?"

"You know me so well," Troy said.

"You already said that not too long ago, Wildcat," Gabriella said as she got out the hot dogs.

"Well you do. And I love that about you."

In about fifteen minutes, Gabriella brought plates out into the living room. She had gotten a salad for herself.

"Here you go, Wildcat," she said, handing Troy his hot dog. "Oh, do you want chips or anything?"

"No, don't worry about it. Just eat," Troy said.

"If you want some, I can get some. I'm gonna go get some iced tea for me. You want anything?"

"Alright, I'll have some chips if you're getting up. And could I have some ice tea, too, please, Gabby?" he

asked.

"No problem," Gabriella said, walking back into the kitchen. She came out a minute later with the chips and

the iced tea. "Here's your stuff," she told Troy, putting the chips on and his iced tea on the end table that was next

to the sofa. "You good now?"

"Yeah," Troy said. "Thanks, Gabs."

"It's really not a problem, Wildcat," Gabriella said.

"Do you want to go get the turkey today?" asked Troy.

"Why?"

"Because I'm so bored. I want to go somewhere."

"Okay, we can go when we're done eating."

"Great," Troy said.

Gabriella felt really bad for Troy, so she decided to do something special for him so that he would have

something to do. She thought about it, then said, "Wildcat, how would you like to take a drive up to Albuquerque

Friday and watch the Wildcats play that night?" she asked. He would probably like to see his former team play.

"Gabby, you're a great fiancé," Troy said.

"Okay. We can take off work Friday, then stay at either Chad's or Sharpay's or Zeke's, then come home

Monday morning. That was, we would have time to visit with everyone, but still be back in time for work that

afternoon. It doesn't take too long to drive there. Only like an hour and a half. But when I thought we would be

that distance apart during college, it seemed like so long because I would only see you like once a month or so."

"I know," Troy said. "But those plans sound good."

"Alright, let me go call Sharpay and ask her if we can visit her on Friday. Is it okay if I ask her if we can stay

over or do you want to stay at Chad or Zeke's?"

"You can ask Sharpay," Troy said. "We can always go visit Chad and Zeke sometime while we're there."

"Okay, cool," Gabriella said. She went to the phone and called Sharpay.

"Hello?" she heard Sharpay say.

"Hey, Sharpay, it's Gabriella. Troy and I were gonna come up to see the Wildcats play Friday night. Could we

stay overnight at your house Friday night and Saturday night?"

"Sure, you know I always will welcome friends to my house."

"Okay, great!"

"Maybe I'll call Taylor, Ryan, and Kelsi and ask them if they want to come up Friday. Then we could all go to

the game and have an early Thanksgiving celebration," Sharpay suggested.

"Great idea! It will be nice to have all the Wildcats in one place again," Gabriella said.

"I know. I miss it," Sharpay said.

"Do you want me to bring anything?"

"If you could bring brownies for dessert that would be great."

"Okay, I will."

"Alright. I'm wondering now if Troy and Chad will wear their uniforms and try to play in the game," Sharpay

said, laughing.

"Well I know Troy won't," Gabriella said. "Because you'll never guess what happened."

"What?" asked Sharpay curiously.

"Well he broke his ankle at college last week."

"Really? How?"

"Someone accidentally tripped him. I feel so sorry for him. He can only sit around all day and he can't drive

and he's frustrated that he can't help me with stuff."

"Well I'm sure you're taking care of him."

"Yeah, I am, but I thought going to the Wildcats game would cheer him up."

"You and Troy are such a great couple," Sharpay said.

"I know," Gabriella said. "I keep him company as much as I can, but if I have to do something around the

house, then he's bored."

"That must be hard," Sharpay said.

"I know," Gabriella said. "Well I've gotta go now. I told Troy I would take him to the grocery store with me to

get a turkey and I'll get some brownie mix while I'm there."

"Okay," Sharpay said. "I'll let you go. See you Friday."

"Alright. See you. Bye."

"Bye."

Gabriella walked over to Troy and kissed his cheek. "Wildcat," she said, "I'm ready to go. Are you?"

"Yeah," Troy said.

Gabriella grabbed her purse off of the table. "Sharpay said it would be okay to stay over at her house for those

two nights."

"Okay," Troy said.

"And she's gonna ask Taylor, Ryan, and Kelsi to come down, too. And Chad and Zeke are coming and we're

gonna have an early Thanksgiving there, so I have to get brownie mix."

"Oh, do you have to bring brownies?" asked Troy.

"Yeah. I'm gonna get two boxes because I know that you and Chad are gonna eat a lot of them."

"I know I told you this twice today, but you know me so well."

"Troy, do you know what kind of brownies I'm gonna get?"

"The ones with chocolate chips. I know it."

"You're right. You know me so well," Gabriella said, looking at him with a smile on her face.

Once they were outside and in Gabriella's car, Gabriella started driving to the grocery store. They got out and

slowly walked in because Troy obviously couldn't move that fast on crutches. "I hate these things," Troy said.

"I know, but you'll get off of them soon," Gabriella assured him.

"I'm glad I'll be okay for the wedding," Troy said.

"Me, too," Gabriella said.

In the store, they picked out a turkey and same brownies, paid for them, then left. But Gabriella didn't go home.

She went to the park near their house where they had picnics sometime. "Honey, what are you doing at the park?"

asked Troy.

"I thought we could sit out here for a little so you could be outside and get some fresh air," Gabriella told him.

"Gabby, you're the best girl in the whole world," Troy said, leaning over to press an affectionate kiss onto her

cheek.

Gabriella smiled. Even after being with Troy for almost two years, she still felt a certain feeling when he

kissed her that she knew she could never feel with anyone else. It was a feeling that just made her want to smile

and tell Troy she loved him, even though he already knew it. And when he looked in her eyes and told her he

loved her she felt like crying happy tears because she was so happy with him at times it felt like she was

dreaming a dream and never waking up. But it was real, which made her even happier. She couldn't even imagine

what her life would be like without Troy. She _didn't_ want to imagine it. "I love you, Wildcat," she told him.

"I love you, too, baby girl," Troy said to her.

Gabriella smiled again and locked her eyes with his for a minute before getting out of the car. Troy got out,

then they went over to the part of the park where they always sat. It was grassy and no one really went there. It

was like their own place, which they loved. They sat down, then Gabriella said, "You know, I never thought I

would be this happy in my whole life."

"Neither did I," said Troy. "I thought I would be happiest if I got into the NBA and won a championship with

them. But I found out that being happy just comes unexpectedly."

"Do you know what the best day of my life was?" asked Gabriella.

"Let me guess. The day I asked you to marry me?" guessed Troy.

"Yes. But only you didn't really ask."

"I know."

Flashback

_Troy put his hand in the pocket of his pants and pulled out a small box. "Gabriella," he said. "Here's what _

_I've been wanting to give you for such a long time."_

_Gabriella was then positive she was right about what Troy wanted. Happy tears ran down her cheeks as _

_she opened the box and saw a beautiful ring. "Oh, Troy," she said softly, kissing his cheek. "Yes, yes, _

_YES!" She hugged him tightly and they kissed. _

_"So I didn't even have to ask you," he said, looking into her brown eyes and brushing the tears off her face _

_with his fingers. "Oh, Gabby, you're so precious to me I just couldn't wait any longer to ask you. I love _

_you too much."_

_"It's not too much love for me," Gabriella said. "Thank you so much! I can't believe going to that New _

_Year's Eve party turned out to be the best thing!"_

_"And I remember when that guy made us sing-he said that someday we were going to thank him for it. I _

_didn't think so, but now I know he was right. I could never be happy with anyone but you. I love you."_

_"I love you, too," Gabriella said. They kissed again, then hugged, Gabriella snuggling into Troy. "I never_

_thought I would fall in love. And I really never thought going to that party would _

_turn out to be a good thing."_

_At that moment, Chad came out of the house. He saw Troy and Gabriella in Troy's tree house, _

_hugging still. "What is with the hugging? And crying? What did you do?" _

_"I fell in love," Troy said. "And it's the best thing that ever happened to me." He slipped the ring onto _

_Gabriella's finger._

_"Don't tell me this is what I think it is," Chad said. "Don't tell me you just asked her,-oh forget it! I know_

_you did."_

_"Well I couldn't wait any longer," Troy told him. "I know I'm in love and Gabby's the sweetest girl I've _

_ever met."_

_Chad just shook his head and walked back inside. _

_"Troy?" Gabriella said, looking into Troy's eyes. "Can I stay here with you and go back to Stanford when _

_you leave for college?"_

_"Of course, my little princess," Troy said. "You can do anything you want."_

_Gabriella hugged Troy and they kissed yet again. "I love you," she whispered._

Flashback over

"That was the best day for me, too," Troy said. "Because you said yes."

"Well what other answer could I give? I love you, Wildcat."

"You could have said you would be too busy with college or you were too young to get married. But I had a

feeling you were gonna say yes."

Gabriella smiled and looked into Troy's eyes. "But do you know what I think the best day of my life is gonna

be?"

"Our wedding day?" guessed Troy.

Gabriella nodded. "I love you so much."

"I love you, too, baby girl," Troy told her.

Then their lips met in a passionate kiss. Troy ran his fingers through Gabriella's hair and Gabriella wrapped

her arms around Troy's neck. "I love you," Troy whispered as they broke apart.

"Love you, too," Gabriella whispered back.


	13. The Wildcats Are Together

"Do you have everything?" asked Troy. It was Friday morning, and Troy and Gabriella were getting ready to

leave for Albuquerque.

"Yeah, I think so," Gabriella said. "Let me just double-check." She looked in their bags and made sure they

had extra clothes, toothbrushes, and everything else they would need. "We do," she told Troy.

"Great," Troy said. "When are we leaving?"

"I'll be ready in about ten minutes. I just want to go to the bathroom, turn out the lights, and grab my purse,"

Gabriella said.

"Okay, baby girl. Oh, do you have the brownies?"

"They're on the kitchen counter. Thanks for reminding me." She went into the bathroom. "When I'm done in

the bathroom, I'll get them."

"I'll get them," Troy offered.

"Wildcat, no. You'll fall and get hurt further if you try to hold brownies while on crutches," Gabriella said.

"I feel like I should help you," Troy said.

"Well don't. You're hurt and I want your ankle to heal properly," Gabriella said.

"I love that you care about me," Troy said.

Gabriella came out of the bathroom. "Okay, I'll get the brownies. Can I wear one of your jackets?"

"Sure," Troy said. "You can use anything that's mine. I have about five Wildcats jackets and a Tigers one. I

prefer the Wildcats ones, but you can use one. You can have one if you want. I don't really mind."

"Thanks, Wildcat," Gabriella said. She grabbed one of his jackets and put it on. "Is this one okay for me to

wear?"

Troy nodded. "Yeah. And you can keep it. I'm giving it to you. Okay?"

"You sure you don't want it?" asked Gabriella.

"Honey, I get one in freshman year, sophomore year, junior year, and senior year. Plus, I have a championship

one for winning two years in a row, so keep it. It'll be fine."

"Thank you so much, Wildcat," Gabriella said. She hugged him and kissed his cheek.

Troy kissed her back, but he couldn't hug her due to the crutches. Gabriella let go of him and turned out all the

lights in the house. Then, she got the brownies and made sure she had her purse and all the bags. "Alright, are

you ready?" asked Troy.

"Yeah," Gabriella said. "Are you?"

"Yeah, I'm ready," Troy told her.

"Okay, well then let's go." Gabriella opened the door, waited until Troy went outside, then walked out the

door, closing and locking it behind her. She loaded everything into her car and got into the drivers' seat while

Troy got in the passenger seat next to her. "Okay, and here are the directions," Gabriella said, pulling a sheet of

paper out of her purse and handing it to Troy. "Can you tell me the directions?" she asked.

"Sure," Troy said. "Alright, it says drive out of the driveway and go the end of Maple Street."

"Wildcat, I know that part. I don't even know why they put that in there. People should know they have to

leave the driveway and go to the end of the street they live on," Gabriella said.

"Because dumb people would be confused," Troy said.

"Someone would have to be pretty dumb not to know to leave the driveway," Gabriella commented.

"Believe me, Tiara wouldn't know," Troy told Gabriella with a laugh.

Gabriella laughed, too. "I know. And just to say, hopefully this trip won't turn out like the time when you were

driving and we were trying to get to the Statue of Liberty."

"That was a disaster. Then we got there and it was closed. I was mad about that."

"I know, that was very disappointing after all the trouble we went through. We should have checked the hours

online before we went."

"We didn't have internet then. We were at the hotel," Troy reminded her.

"Well then we should have asked about it at the front desk," Gabriella said.

"Yeah. But I drove all the way here to get you on prom night and I didn't get lost," Troy said.

"Oh, that's right," Gabriella said. "So you know how to get there already."

"Yeah, and you went this way when I was driving you back, so you saw where we were going. Then when we

moved here we drove, so I don't see the point in the directions."

"They're just in case. I am pretty sure I remember it, but I don't want to happen to get lost this time and not

know where we're going."

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Troy said. "Hopefully there won't be a lot of traffic."

"Once we get onto the main roads, it'll probably be crowded because a lot of people go away for Thanksgiving

or around that time, so it might take us two hours to get there."

"When I came to get you, it was pretty clear because it was kind of late. When we moved, it was early

morning, so I've never driven with a lot of traffic. We'll just have to see how it goes I guess."

"Yeah, but we'll get there," Gabriella said.

"What time did you tell Sharpay we would be there?"

"Um, I forgot that. Can you take my cell phone and ask her if between twelve and twelve-thirty is okay? That's

what time we should get up there."

"Okay." Troy took Gabriella's phone out of her purse and called Sharpay.

"Hello?" Sharpay said.

"Hey, this is Troy. Me and Gabby just left our house about five minutes ago, so is it okay if we come to your

house between twelve and twelve-thirty?"

"Yeah, I'm just gonna be home all day. I'll have lunch ready when you get here. Ryan and Kelsi just got here,

and Taylor's leaving on the plane in an hour. Chad's coming around one-thirty, and Zeke will be here about that

time, too, so it's fine."

"Alright. We're looking foreword to seeing all of you again."

"Yeah, me, too. We haven't all been in the same building since graduation."

"Okay, well we'll see you in a couple hours. Bye."

"Bye."

"She said it was okay," Troy told Gabriella as he hung up. "And she's excited about us all being at her house

since we haven't all been in the same building since graduation."

"I thought we were all at Lava Springs together for a day?"

"Yeah, we were. Maybe she forgot."

"Probably."

"So, do you know where you're going?" asked Troy.

"For now, yes. We're near the mean hospital."

Troy laughed. "Yeah, where that nurse yelled at you and pushed you."

"They should have given you ice or something. Leaving someone in pain at a hospital is kind of weird."

"I know. It's called a hospital. Even if people were dying, there are tons of nurses or nurses aids who could get

people ice or a room. Even a receptionist could get ice."

"Yeah, I know. That didn't really make sense to me."

"Well when I go to have my cast off, it's gonna be an appointment and I won't be in pain, so I think it'll work

out way better."

"Hopefully," Gabriella said.

________________________________________________________________________________________

An hour and forty-five minutes later, Gabriella pulled into the driveway of Sharpay's huge house. "Okay, we

made it," she said. "And it's twelve fifteen, so we're on time."

"Do you want to bring all the stuff in now or later?" asked Troy.

"We can go in and say hi first. Then we can get the stuff," Gabriella decided.

"Okay," Troy agreed.

Troy and Gabriella got out of the car and went to the door. Sharpay answered. "Oh, hi!" she said. "Come in!"

She moved away from the door so Troy and Gabriella could walk inside.

"Hi, Sharpay," Troy and Gabriella both said.

Once they got inside, they saw Ryan and Kelsi. "Troy, what happened?" asked Kelsi.

"Why do you have crutches?" asked Ryan.

"I broke my ankle playing basketball," Troy said. "Someone accidentally tripped me."

"That must have hurt," Ryan said.

"Yeah, it did," Troy said.

"Did you have to go to the hospital right away?" asked Kelsi.

"You two can sit down," Sharpay said, cutting into the conversation about Troy's injury. "I don't want to make

Troy stand up since he has a broken bone."

"He's actually supposed to be sitting or laying down as much as possible," Gabriella said. She sat down one of

the three sofas in the very large living room. Troy sat next to her and put his arm around her shoulders.

"Sharpay," Gabriella said, "Can I bring that footrest at that chair over there here? Troy's supposed to keep his foot

level."

"I'll get it," Sharpay said. She walked over to the chair that had the footrest and brought it over. "Here you go."

Troy put his foot up on it and turned towards Kelsi. "Yes, I did have to go to the hospital right away. I was

actually at college when it happened. Someone at college drove me to the hospital and took my car back to my

house. I called Gabby and she of course left college and came right over."

Sharpay sat down on one of the two chairs in the room. "Wow, that must have been bad," she commented.

"And you all have to hear what happened at the hospital," Gabriella said. "They made Troy wait in the waiting

room and he was in pain. They didn't give him ice or anything to put his leg up on. I asked a nurse for some ice

and if he could go in a room and lie down, and she's just like, 'Hello? Lady, we have people dying here. A hurt

ankle is a waste of time. He'll just have to live with it and you'll have to get over it.'"

"What?" Sharpay questioned, shocked. "That's mean."

Ryan and Kelsi agreed.

"Well then I asked to speak to someone in charge. The nurse sent the head nurse, and she got ice and crutches

and let Troy have a room. She was annoyed that the one nurse yelled at me."

"That sounds like it was a crazy visit," Kelsi said.

"It was pretty weird. Then in a little bit, the doctor came in and made Troy get an x-ray. Then, he put the cast

on his ankle."

"So I guess you're not doing basketball right now?" Ryan said.

"No. I'm still taking theater, but I can't really do everything in it. I can read lines and do a little bit of actions,

but I have to sit down," Troy told him.

"Oh, guess what?" Gabriella said.

"What?" asked Sharpay.

"I transferred to Berkeley," Gabriella said.

"Really?" everyone said except Troy, who just smiled lovingly at his fiancé and kissed her cheek.

"Yeah. Stanford says that you have to get all As all the time, and I was getting really stressed out with it, so I

applied for Berkeley since Troy goes there. I'm gonna be taking theater and chemistry there, so I'll have one class

with Troy."

"Cool!" Sharpay said.

"I like theater," Ryan said. "That's a good choice."

"Yeah, you two are so good acting together," Kelsi said, agreeing with Sharpay and Ryan. "You should play

the two leads."

"Well we didn't do a show yet," Troy said. "Hopefully Gabby will be m girlfriend or wife in the play."

"That would work out good," Sharpay said.

"So, how's college for everyone else?" asked Gabriella.

"Great," Ryan said. "I love Julliard."

"Yeah, it's a great school," Kelsi agreed. "I really like it."

"It's fine for me," Sharpay said. "And helping at East High with the drama club is fun, except for when Tiara is

being bratty, which is pretty much all the time."

Everyone laughed.

"Does anyone want lunch?" asked Sharpay. "I have tuna salad sandwiches made."

"Sure," everyone said.

"We can eat in here," Sharpay said. "I'll go get the food." She stood up, walked out of the room, and returned

in a few minutes with a plate of tuna sandwiches, a stack of plates for everyone to put their food on, and a bag of

Sun Chips. "Okay," she said. "Here are Sun Chips and here are the sandwiches." She put them down on the small

table in the middle of the room. Then, she handed everyone a plate. "Take whatever you want," she said. "After

we finish eating this, I have chocolate chip cookies for dessert."

Everyone took some food and started eating. While they were eating, they all talked more about whatever they

felt like. When they were done, they are dessert, then Sharpay decided to show everyone their rooms. "Well,

Ryan, you know where your room is since you live here," Sharpay said.

"Oh, Sharpay, where are Mom and Dad?" asked Ryan.

"Out somewhere now. They'll be back around six," Sharpay said.

"And everyone can come with me," Sharpay said.

"Sharpay, just so you know, Troy can't go up any stairs," Gabriella said.

"I figured that, so I decided that you can have one of the downstairs rooms," Sharpay said. She led them into a

huge bedroom with a king-sized bed and a very large closet. It had a full bathroom in it which was the biggest

bathroom Troy and Gabriella had ever seen. It had a separate shower and tub, a sink with a really big mirror

above it and a toilet. There were a few drawers along the wall. Sharpay opened a door in there and said, "Here's

an extra toilet in here."

"Wow, two toilets!" Gabriella said, surprised. "And a separate shower and tub! And a huge mirror!"

"I hope the room is big enough for you. The biggest rooms are upstairs," Sharpay said.

"Even bigger than this?" asked Troy. "Wow, those must be big."

"Well I'm kind of used to it since I lived here ever since I was born, but a lot of people say how big everything

is," Sharpay said.

"Troy, look, we get our own table!" Gabriella said. She was looking at a small table with two chairs at it.

"That is if you want to eat in your room," Sharpay explained. "And you can feel free to put your clothes in the

closet and set up your room how you want."

"Okay," Gabriella said.

"Kelsi, your room is upstairs, so you can come up," Sharpay said.

"I'll stay down here with Troy," Gabriella said. "That way I can start setting up the room. But first I have to go

out to the car and get our stuff."

"I'm coming!" Ryan told Sharpay.

Troy and Gabriella heard Ryan, Sharpay, and Kelsi go upstairs, followed by the ringing of the doorbell. "I'll

go get it," Gabriella said. She walked to the door with Troy following and saw Chad, Zeke, and Jason. "Hi," she

said. "Sharpay is upstairs."

"That's okay," they all said.

"But you can all come in," Gabriella said. "Jason, I didn't know you were coming."

"Yeah, Chad called me because he said that Sharpay asked him to call me and Zeke," Jason said.

"You can sit down I guess," Gabriella said.

"Hi," Troy said as all his friends came inside.

"What did you do, Dude?" asked Chad.

"Troy, what happened?" asked Jason.

"Why do you have crutches?" asked Zeke.

"I broke my ankle," said Troy. He told the story about him breaking his ankle and the hospital problem.

"Wow, that's bad," Chad said.

Zeke and Jason agreed with him.

Just then, Sharpay came down followed by Kelsi and Ryan. "Hi Chad, Zeke, Jason," she said. "Did Gabriella

let you in?"

"Yeah," Zeke said.

"Hi," Ryan said.

"Hi, I haven't seen you three for a while," Kelsi said.

"Hi, Ryan. Hi, Kelsi," Chad, Zeke, and Jason all said.

"So, do you want to see your rooms?" asked Sharpay. "You can follow me upstairs."

The three boys followed Sharpay upstairs. About five minutes later, they came back down. "Wow, those

rooms are huge," Chad said. "My whole house could fit in one of those."

"I know, I heard the upstairs rooms were huge," Troy said. "Even bigger than the ones down here. Me and

Gabby have a huge room, so I can see how big the upstairs rooms would be."

"You should see them," Jason said.

"Can't," Troy said. "I can't walk upstairs."

"Oh," Jason said.

Everyone talked for a while until they heard the doorbell again. It was Taylor. "Hi, Taylor," Sharpay said.

"Come in. Everyone's here."

"Hi," Taylor said as she walked inside. "Sharpay, you have a huge house!"

"You should see my room," Chad told her. "My whole house could fit in it."

Taylor laughed. "Wow, either your house is small or the room is huge."

"Do you want to see your room?" asked Sharpay. "Then you can put your bags there." She looked at the bags

Taylor was holding.

Sharpay led Taylor up the stairs. A few minutes later, they came back down.

"Those rooms are huge!" Taylor said.

"Told you," Chad said.

"It's so nice to all be here," Sharpay said.

"What time is the game tonight?" asked Troy.

"Five," Sharpay answered. "It's two-thirty now. We'll leave around four-thirty."

"Sounds great," Zeke said.

Everyone talked again for about an hour and a half since they had a lot to catch up on. Around four, Sharpay

said she was gonna go get ready for the game. Everyone else said they would go in their rooms and get settled

and ready to go.

Troy and Gabriella went into their room. Gabriella shut the door behind them. "So, Wildcat, do you want your

clothes in the closet?" Gabriella asked.

"Sure," Troy said. "I can hang them up." He sat down on the bed.

Gabriella grabbed a few of the hangers that were in there and gave them to Troy along with his clothes.

"Here," she said. Then, she started hanging up her own clothes. "But let me put them in the closet. You just get

them on the hangers. I'm gonna put our shoes on this shelf in here."

"Okay," Troy said.

Once they were done with that, Gabriella shut the closet and went into the bathroom. She put the toothbrushes

in the toothbrush holder that was by the sink and put her make-up and hair stuff in a drawer. Then, she came back

out and sat next to Troy. "So, do you like Sharpay's house?" she asked.

"It feels like this room is a suite rather than a bedroom," Troy said. "I like it, but it's kind of too big."

"Yeah, I get what you mean," Gabriella said. "Well I'm gonna go quick get changed into something red and

white."

"Okay," Troy said. "I'm gonna wear one of my Wildcats jackets."

"I'll get one for you," Gabriella said. She walked over to the closet, got one of Troy's jackets and tossed it to

him. He caught it perfectly. "Good catch," Gabriella said as she got out a red shirt and white shoes. She decided

to keep the jeans she was wearing on.

"Thanks," Troy said.

"Want anything?" asked Gabriella. "While I still have the closet open?"

"No, I'll just wear this," Troy said.

"Okay," Gabriella said. She quickly changed, then put her other shirt back in the bag she had brought. "I'm

gonna go do my hair," she told Troy.

"Gabby, you look fine," Troy told her.

"Well I want to redo it," Gabriella said. "I'll be right back." She went into the bathroom and came out in about

ten minutes. "It's four twenty-five," she said, looking at the clock in the room. "We'll be leaving soon."

"Do you want to go out in the living room and wait for everyone else?" asked Troy.

"Sure, good idea," Gabriella said. "But give me a kiss first." She sat down next to Troy and looked into his

eyes.

Troy smiled and kissed her affectionately, feeling her kiss him back. "I love you," he said when they were

finished.

"Love you, too," Gabriella said, putting her head on Troy's shoulder. "Now I think we should go in the living

room."

"Okay," Troy agreed. They both stood up, left their room, and went into the living room, excited about going

to see the Wildcats and going back to East High for a little bit.


	14. The Wildcats are Still Together

"The Wildcats played good," Troy commented as everyone was walking into Sharpay's house. They had just

gotten back from the game.

"And they even won!" Gabriella added. "If you were still playing on the team, I would be kissing you so much

by now."

"Why can't you kiss me even though I didn't play?" asked Troy.

"Hey, Troy," Chad said. "Did you see Jimmy playing? He's actually good."

"Yeah, he is pretty good," Troy agreed. "So is Donny. I guess they stopped being so distracted by wasting time

during practices."

"I know," Zeke said. "Last year they would waste time showing off how good they could throw."

"I'm glad Tiara wasn't there," said Sharpay.

"Me, too," Gabriella said.

"Did you see that girl in front of us with the brown hair and the light blue shirt?" Sharpay asked.

"Yeah," Gabriella said.

"That's Jimmy's new girlfriend," Sharpay told her.

"Oh, that's right, he's not dating Tiara anymore," Gabriella said.

Ryan closed the door. "I didn't think it would last."

"I kind of did," Jason said.

"Why?" asked Troy.

"I don't know, I just thought it would last."

"I didn't even hear he broke up with Tiara," Taylor said.

"Yeah, he did. She has a new boyfriend Nate now," Sharpay said.

"Oh, really?" Taylor said.

Sharpay nodded. "Well I have some chocolate chip cookies left over from lunch. Does anyone want one?"

"Yes!" all the boys said.

"Wildcat, you're not being polite," Gabriella told Troy as she kissed his cheek.

"Aw, baby girl, are you mad at your Wildcat?" Troy said, sitting down on the sofa. Gabriella sat next to him

and Troy wrapped his arms around her and pressed his lips onto her cheek affectionately, making Gabriella smile.

"Well who wants a cookie?" called Sharpay over all the noise that was being made from the talking.

Everyone wanted one, so Sharpay got out cookies for everyone. Then, she saw her parents come downstairs.

"Sharpay, can you please be quieter down here?" asked Mrs. Evans over all the noise.

"Yeah, we can hear you from all the way on the third floor," Mr. Evans added.

"Hey, Mom, Dad," Ryan said.

"Ryan! How are you? How's college?" asked both his parents.

"Great," Ryan said.

"Alright, well we'll let you have fun with your friends and you can visit with us Sunday night after everyone

leaves," Mrs. Evans said. "And try to be quieter!" she added as she followed Mr. Evans upstairs.

"Okay, Mom," Sharpay said. "Alright, how about we watch a movie?" Sharpay suggested. "We can go in the

TV room. It's right over here. I'll get some popcorn, too."

"Okay," everyone agreed.

After Sharpay got the popcorn, she led everyone into a very big TV room. There was a big screen flat screen

TV, and a bunch of sofas and chairs like there were in the living room. Chad, Zeke, and Jason sat on one sofa,

Ryan, Kelsi, and Sharpay each sat on a chair, and Troy and Gabriella cuddled up with each other on a sofa while

Taylor sat next to Gabriella since there was enough room for her.

"Hey, Troy," Chad said. "You do know you're the only one sitting with your girlfriend."

"She's my fiancé and we love sitting together," Troy told him. "Anyway, you're already sitting with Zeke and

Jason, so there would be no room for me. And there's a footrest here and I have to put my foot up so I don't hurt

my ankle further." Troy pulled Gabriella closer than he had been holding her and kissed her cheek.

"Okay, everyone," Sharpay said. "Let me put in a movie and turn out the lights." She put a DVD into the DVD

player, then went over to the light switch and turned the lights off. Then, realizing she hadn't given anyone their

popcorn, turned them back on. She gave everyone a bowl of popcorn, though Troy and Gabriella both insisted

they could share one. Sharpay gave them one bowl, then, turned the lights off again, then played the movie.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Halfway through the movie, Gabriella started getting tired even though it was only quarter after eight. She

snuggled further against Troy, rested her head on his shoulder, and tried to just rest instead of falling asleep.

All of a sudden, Sharpay paused the movie. "Who needs something to drink? We have water, iced tea, and soda."

Everyone told Sharpay what they wanted, then Sharpay got it and brought it all back. Once everyone had their

drinks, she turned the lights out again and turned the movie back on. "Wildcat, I'm getting really tired,"

whispered Gabriella very softly in Troy's ear so that she wouldn't disturb everyone.

Troy grabbed the blanket that was draped over the back of the sofa and covered them both with it. "You had a

very busy day," he whispered back, just as softly as he gently stoked her curls. "You just close your eyes and get

some rest. Do you want any more of our iced tea first?" Troy and Gabriella were sharing a cup of iced tea. They

pretty much shared everything. Gabriella nodded and lifted her head off of Troy's shoulder. She drank a few sips,

then put the cup back on the table in front of them. "Alright," Troy whispered. "Now just put your head back on

my shoulder and close your eyes." He hugged her tightly as he felt her snuggle far into him and rest her head on

his shoulder.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Around quarter after nine, the movie was over. By this time, Troy had let his head rest on top of Gabriella's

and fallen asleep along with her. Everyone got up and left the room. Then, once they were out of the room, Chad

said, "Where's Troy?"

"Where's Gabriella?" wondered Sharpay.

"Let's go see if they left during the movie to go to bed," suggested Taylor.

Everyone went to Troy and Gabriella's room, but the door was open and no one was in there. "Let's go see

if they went in the kitchen," Sharpay said.

"I'll go check upstairs," Chad said.

"Troy can't walk upstairs," Taylor reminded him.

"Oh, right," Chad said.

Everyone was still looking after about fifteen minutes. "I have an idea!" said Ryan. "Let's go look in the TV

room!"

"Okay," everyone agreed. They went into the TV room, turned on the light, and saw Troy and Gabriella as-

leep on the sofa. Now, Gabriella had her arm over Troy, Troy was still holding her tightly, and they were both

smiling in their sleep.

"Let me take care of this," Chad said. He grabbed a pillow.

"No, don't Chad!" Sharpay, Kelsi, and Taylor all said at once.

"Why?" asked Chad.

"They're a cute couple," Sharpay said.

"What are you gonna do, watch them sleep?" asked Zeke.

"No," Taylor said.

Just then, Troy and Gabriella's eyes blinked open slowly and they lifted their heads. "What's going on?" asked

Troy sleepily.

"Chad wanted to wake you up and I said no," Sharpay said.

"I was just gonna throw the pillow at them," Chad said.

"Well we think we're gonna go in our room and get to bed," Troy told everyone. "We're really tired."

"Aw," everyone said in disappointment.

"We can hang out again tomorrow," Troy said.

"But we were gonna talk for a little," Taylor said.

"I'm glad you want us to stay, but I'm so tired after driving here and being at the game," Gabriella said. "I think

I just want to relax, snuggle with Troy, and go to bed."

"Gabriella, you and Troy are gross," Chad said.

"How?" asked Troy.

"I know what you wanna do," Chad said as he gave them an I-know-it look.

"No, Chad!" Troy said, knowing what Chad meant. "We're just gonna snuggle. We're not going to do anything

more until we're married."

"Whatever," Chad said. "I might believe it. Or I might not."

Troy and Gabriella walked into their room and closed the door behind them. "Chad's real nosy," Gabriella

commented.

"I know, like he thinks he knows what's going on," Troy said.

"Well I guess he doesn't know that we're waiting until after our wedding to do anything more than just

snuggle."

"But at someone's house? That would be a little.....weird."

"I know," Gabriella said. She opened the closet, got out her pajamas, and changed before climbing under the

covers." Troy, are you coming?" she asked.

"Yeah," Troy said. He got in bed next to her and, being careful of his ankle, pulled her close to his side and

pressed kisses onto her cheeks. Then, he made his lips touch hers in an affectionate kiss. Gabriella kissed back,

then wrapped her arms around Troy. When they broke apart, Troy reached over, turned off the light next to the

bed, and said, "Goodnight, baby girl."

"Goodnight, Wildcat," Gabriella said.

Then, they both closed their eyes and drifted off into a deep, peaceful sleep.

________________________________________________________________________________________

The next morning, Gabriella opened her eyes to find that she was snuggled next to Troy, but not in their own

bed. _Oh, right, we're at Sharpay's,_ she thought. She looked over at the clock. _7:13. I'll just lie down here with _

_Troy for a while and let him sleep. He needs his rest._ She decided. But then, she ended up falling back asleep

until nine o' clock, which was when Troy woke up, too. "Hey, Wildcat," Gabriella said.

"Hey, baby girl," Troy said back, pressing a kiss onto her nose. "Did you sleep okay last night?"

"I slept great," Gabriella said. "I can't believe how tired I was."

"Well you drove for half the morning yesterday," Troy reminded her.

"That's true," she said. "I'm gonna go get a shower now." She rolled reluctantly out of bed. "It's cold!" she

exclaimed as she shivered a little because of the frosty late November air.

"Aw, poor baby," Troy said, holding out his arms as she quickly hurried back under the covers. He wrapped

them around her and held her tightly, kissing her nose. "Your nose is frozen," he commented.

Gabriella laughed. "I know," she said.

"Well how about you get a nice hot shower. With me. Sound good?" Troy asked.

"It sounds so nice," Gabriella said. "But you can't get your cast wet."

"Oh, right," Troy said. "Well how about you get a hot shower and I'll wash myself up and then dry you off."

"Okay," Gabriella agreed. "But be careful of your cast and you're gonna need to sit down to dry me off."

"I will," Troy promised.

Troy and Gabriella both got out of bed, went into the bathroom, brushed their teeth, then Gabriella got in the

shower and Troy washed himself off. When Gabriella was done, Troy sat on the bed and pulled Gabriella onto

his lap carefully so his foot didn't move. He took her towel and gently rubbed her shivering body dry, trying to be

quick so she wouldn't have to be cold for as long. "You need to get some clothes on," he told her when he was

done. He hugged her close to him and wrapped her in her towel. "You're shivering really bad."

"Okay," Gabriella said through chattering teeth. Troy was right; she was shivering badly because whenever

she got out of the shower when it was cold outside, she always felt cold air even if the heat was on. She wrapped

her towel tighter around her body and went over to the closet to quickly grab something warm for her to wear.

"Wildcat, what do you wanna wear?" asked Gabriella.

"Just get me anything," Troy told her.

Gabriella threw Troy a shirt and some pants. "Here." Then, she dressed quickly and sat next to Troy.

"Warmer?" Troy asked as he pulled her close to him.

Gabriella nodded. "Much warmer."

"That's good," Troy said.

"I'm gonna go do my hair and make-up," Gabriella said. "I'll be back in a little bit.

"Okay," Troy said. He let go of Gabriella and let her go into the bathroom. She came out in about twenty

minutes.

"Wildcat, do I look okay?" she asked, going over to Troy.

"You always look like the prettiest girl in the world to me," Troy told her.

"Thanks, Wildcat," Gabriella said, bending down to kiss his cheek.

"Are you ready to go see if anyone else is up?" asked Troy.

"Yeah," Gabriella said. "Let's go. We're probably the last ones up."

Troy and Gabriella walked into the living room to find Chad, Taylor, Zeke, and Jason sitting down. "Hey,"

Troy said.

"Hey, Troy," everyone said.

"So, where are Sharpay, Ryan, and Kelsi?" asked Gabriella. "I thought we would be the last ones up."

"Still sleeping, I guess," Taylor said.

Troy and Gabriella sat down together and started cuddling. "Oh, okay," Gabriella said.

"Troy, did you have fun last night?" asked Chad.

"What do you mean?" asked Troy.

"Did you have fun with Gabriella in your room?"

"We weren't doing anything, Chad," Troy told his friend.

"Yeah, right," Chad said.

"Chad," Taylor said. "Why don't you leave Troy alone? If he said he didn't do anything, then he probably

didn't."

"Fine," Chad said.

"Thanks, Chad," Troy said.

Just then, Ryan walked downstairs. "Just to tell you, Sharpay is not even close to being done getting ready.

She wanted me to tell you that," he said.

"Okay," everyone said.

"Do you want breakfast?" asked Ryan.

"Yes, I'm starving," Chad said.

"Sure," everyone else said, more politely than Chad.

Ryan got everyone cereal. "I don't know how to make any breakfast foods," he explained. "Sorry."

Everyone said it was okay and just ate the cereal.

In a few minutes, Kelsi came down the staircase. "Hi everyone," she said.

"Hi, Kelsi," everyone said.

"So, where's Sharpay?" asked Kelsi.

"Still getting ready," Gabriella told her. She put her now empty bowl down and snuggled into Troy. "It's cold

this morning," she commented.

Troy smiled at Gabriella and pulled her closer than she already was. "I'll keep you warm," he whispered in her

ear.

"So, Troy, you wanna try to play basketball with me, Zeke, and Jason?" asked Chad.

"I can't. I'd love to, though," Troy said. "But my ankle."

"Can't you try to play?" asked Chad.

Troy shook his head. "No, I can't even try. I don't want my ankle to get worse and have to be on crutches at me

and Gabby's wedding," he told Chad.

Chad looked disappointed.

"I can watch you play, though," Troy offered.

"Okay," Chad agreed.

"I'll play," Ryan offered.

"Alright, great," Chad said.

"Sorry I can't play," Troy said. "I really wish I could, though."

"I guess it's okay," Chad said.

"Wildcat, it's not your fault," Gabriella reminded him.

"I know, Gabby," Troy said. He looked disappointed, too.

Gabriella, feeling really bad for Troy, threw her arms around him and kissed his cheek. "Love you," she told

him.

"Love you, too," Troy said, hugging Gabriella back and kissing her nose affectionately.

"Gabriella, how's Stanford?" asked Taylor.

"I quit there," Gabriella told her friend. "It was way too stressful."

Taylor looked surprised. "Really?" she asked.

Gabriella nodded. "After break I'm going to Berkeley with Troy."

"What are you taking there?" asked Taylor.

"Theater and chemistry," Gabriella said. "Troy's doing theater, too, so I'll get to see him."

"Oh, okay," Taylor said. "I wish I got into Stanford."

"Do you wanna take my place?" asked Gabriella.

"No, it's okay," Taylor said.

Everyone heard someone coming down the stairs. They looked to see Sharpay. "Hi," Sharpay said. "Sorry I'm

the last one up. I slept too late."

"It's okay," everyone said.

"Did Ryan make sure you got breakfast?" asked Sharpay.

"Yeah," everyone told her.

"I got them cereal," Ryan said.

Sharpay rolled her eyes at her brother. "Come on, Ryan! You couldn't make eggs or something?"

"No," Ryan said.

"Sorry, everyone," Sharpay said. "RYAN can't cook."

"Only easy things," Ryan said.

"How much easier could it get than eggs?" asked Sharpay.

"Um, a lot easier, like....sandwich easy."

"If you make sandwiches you're not cooking!" Sharpay yelled.

"Stop being bossy!" Ryan said. "Just cause you're ten minutes older than me doesn't make you smarter!"

"I'm eleven minutes older!" Sharpay argued.

At this time, Sharpay and Ryan's parents came downstairs. "Ryan, Sharpay, stop arguing," Mrs. Evans said.

"But Ryan made everyone eat cereal!" Sharpay said.

"It's fine," Mrs. Evans said.

"Sharpay said she's eleven minutes older than me!" Ryan said.

"She is," Mr. Evans told Ryan. "But that doesn't mean she can boss you around." He looked at Sharpay.

"I wasn't!" Sharpay argued.

"Well you two need to stop because your friends don't need to listen to you fight," Mrs. Evans said.

"Fine," Sharpay and Ryan both said, sitting down on chairs away from each other.

"Good," Mr. Evans said. "Now we're gonna go to the store. Bye."

"Bye," Sharpay and Ryan both said to their parents.

Mr. and Mrs. Evans left, then Sharpay said, "What do you wanna do?"

"Doesn't matter," all the girls answered.

"Basketball!" shouted the boys, except Troy, who knew he couldn't play.

"Okay, you can play and we can watch," Sharpay said. "Let's go to the park where there's a basketball court."

"Okay!" everyone said.

"Wildcat, you can sit with me," Gabriella said.

"Okay," Troy said.

"I still feel bad for you," Gabriella told Troy.

"Well don't," Troy said. "I'll be fine."

"But you want to play basketball so bad," Gabriella said.

"I know, but it's not your fault I can't," Troy said, kissing her on the cheek.

Gabriella smiled.

"Okay, let's go, then," Sharpay said.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Once everyone made it to the park, Chad, Ryan, Zeke, and Jason, went over onto the basketball court.

Everyone else sat down on the grass, Troy being careful of his ankle. Gabriella held his hand and said, "You're

gonna be able to play, soon."

Troy leaned over to nuzzle her cheek. "Thanks," he said. "And I love you."

"Alright, one, two, three, go!" Chad yelled.

The game started. Everyone watched as the four boys played. They were all playing well, but Chad and Zeke

ended up beating Ryan and Jason.

"Good game," all the girls told their boyfriends when they were finished.

"Wildcat, if you would've played, you would've done great," Gabriella told Troy so he wouldn't feel left out.

"Thanks, baby girl," Troy said to Gabriella.

"Let's eat lunch," suggested Sharpay. She had brought some sandwiches and chips for lunch.

Everyone ate, then went back to Sharpay's house.

"That was fun," Chad said. "I love basketball."

"I have fun with it, too, but I like theater better," Ryan said.

"What do you want to do now?" asked Sharpay.

"I don't know," everyone said. "Maybe we can sit down and talk for a little while."

"Okay," agreed Sharpay. "We're gonna have our Thanksgiving dinner around five-thirty."

"Great," everyone said.

"This is the last time you're gonna see me as Gabriella Montez," Gabriella told everyone. "Next time we all

get together, I'll be getting married and would already have changed my last name in advance."

"Oh, that's right, your wedding's next month!" Taylor said. "You all ready?"

Gabriella nodded. "I'm so excited!" she said.

"You're not nervous at all?" asked Kelsi.

Gabriella shook her head. "No, I'm just really happy about being Troy's wife."

"I'm glad to see you two stayed together after high school," Sharpay said.

"So am I," Gabriella said, but she was staring into Troy's eyes instead of looking at Sharpay. "I love him so

much." That time, she was mostly talking to herself. "More than anything."


	15. Wedding Rings

"That was a fun weekend," Gabriella said as her and Troy walked into their own house. They had just gotten

back from Albuquerque.

"Yeah," Troy agreed. "I still wish I could've played basketball."

"I feel bad that you couldn't, Wildcat," Gabriella told Troy.

"It's not your fault, honey," Troy assured her as he sat down on the sofa.

"Well all your friends will be at our wedding, so maybe you can play there. Ask them to come early. You're

wearing your Wildcats uniform at the wedding anyway, so it doesn't matter if you play right before the wedding,"

Gabriella suggested. She walked over to Troy, sat down next to him, pushed his bangs out of his face, and kissed

his forehead. "I know it's frustrating," she said to him, "But soon your cast will be off and you can do stuff

again."

"Yeah," Troy agreed. "Only three more weeks. I'm almost halfway done with it."

"I'm so glad you are," Gabriella said.

"I'm glad our wedding is only about a month away," Troy commented.

"Me, too," Gabriella said. "I can't wait."

"Oh, we've gotta get our wedding rings," Troy reminded Gabriella.

"How about we go tomorrow before we have to leave for work?" Gabriella suggested.

"Good idea," Troy said. "That way we'll be sure to have them before our wedding in case they have to order

them."

"I'm so happy we're gonna be married, Wildcat," Gabriella said. "I love you so much."

Troy put his arm around Gabriella's shoulders and pulled her close. "I love you, too," he said.

Gabriella rested her head on Troy's shoulder. "Do you want to watch basketball while I unpack our stuff? It's

Sunday afternoon; it should be on."

"Okay," Troy said.

Gabriella grabbed the remote and put on some basketball for Troy to watch. "I'll try to be quick," she told him,

kissing his cheek.

"Okay." Troy quickly hugged Gabriella and kissed her nose before she got off the sofa.

"I promise I'll be as quick as I can," Gabriella said.

________________________________________________________________________________________

"Troy, should I call my mom back?" asked Gabriella. "She left a message."

"What did she say?" asked Troy.

"She said that she's gonna come to our wedding but just because I'm her only daughter, well, actually, she

never had any sons, either. But anyway, she said she's not coming because she's happy for me," Gabriella said.

"No offense, but she's kind of being mean," Troy said.

"You wouldn't have offended me," Gabriella said. "I know she's kind of being mean about the whole wedding

thing."

"Well why isn't she happy that you're happy? Does she want you to live with her your whole life?" asked

Troy.

"I think so. I don't think she ever wanted to live by herself, but I want to be with you. She's making it worse by

not trying to be happy for me," Gabriella said. She sat down next to Troy, who was sitting on the sofa still

watching basketball.

"Why doesn't she like me?" asked Troy. "What did I do?"

"It's not you, Wildcat," Gabriella assured him, snuggling against him and kissing his cheek. "She just doesn't

like that I'm living with you. You didn't do anything."

"But she wanted you to marry someone from Stanford," Troy pointed out, kissing her cheek in return.

"I think she thought that if I married someone from Stanford who was rich, then our house would be big

enough for her to live in, too," Gabriella said.

"Well what's wrong with me?" asked Troy. "I'm poor and I go to Berkeley?"

"No, Wildcat. She thinks you're poor and you just play basketball and you wouldn't make money."

"Well why don't you just call her back and tell her that you got the message that she was coming to our

wedding and hang up if she starts talking about me not being right for you."

"Okay." Gabriella got up, went into the bedroom, grabbed her phone, and called her mom back.

"Hello?" Mrs. Montez answered the phone.

"Hi Mom, I got your message," Gabriella said.

"Oh, okay," Mrs. Montez said.

"Alright, well I'll see you in about a month," Gabriella said.

"Well can't you come over on Thanksgiving?" asked Mrs. Montez. "You won't have work, will you?"

"I'm sorry, but I already made plans for Thanksgiving," Gabriella said.

"What are you doing?"

"Um...." Gabriella tried to think of a way to tell her mom that her and Troy were just going to relax with each

other at home and eat a dinner she made herself.

"You don't have any plans, do you?" asked Mrs. Montez.

"Yeah, I do."

"Well what are you doing?"

"Well we've been so busy lately, I thought Troy and I could just relax with each other for a day."

"Why do you always spend time with him?"

"Because I love him."

"Well can you come for a little?"

Gabriella took Troy's advice and hung up the phone. Then, she walked back into the living room and sat down

next to Troy. "My mom wanted us to come over for Thanksgiving, but I said we already planned to relax just the

two of us. She started getting annoyed, so I hung up."

"Why does she hate me?" asked Troy.

"Because she hates my dad, whoever he is. I don't even know who he is, so I can't say if he's nice or not."

"Well I'm not related to your dad."

"She thinks that when I marry you, you'll turn out like my dad. I don't even know how he turned out that was

bad to her. She never talked about it."

"But we love each other."

"I know. I don't think she knows what it's like to love someone so much. I think she got married just because

she wouldn't be alone if she was married."

"I know it didn't work out for your mom, but I'm glad she did because now I have you."

"I know," Gabriella said. "I'm glad, too." She snuggled closer to Troy and leaned on his shoulder. "I love you

so much."

"Love you, too," Troy told Gabriella. He hugged her close to his side. "More than anything in the world."

________________________________________________________________________________________

The next day, Troy and Gabriella were picking out their wedding rings at the jewelry store. "What do you like,

Gabby?" asked Troy.

"Whatever's cheapest, Wildcat. Don't spend too much on me. I'll love you even if you get me one of those

plastic party favor rings that are at the dollar store," Gabriella said.

"Baby girl, you deserve more than that," Troy told her.

"Well then get something you want to buy," Gabriella said.

"I want to buy whatever you like, my love," Troy said.

"I want something that isn't 24 carats."

"Why?"

"Cause it'd be too expensive and I don't want you to spend too much."

"Honey, listen, don't worry about that. I would buy you the most expensive thing in the world if I could afford

it."

"Wildcat, you know that the most expensive thing could be millions of dollars?" asked Gabriella.

"Yeah, I said if I could afford it," Troy told her.

"Well all I want is your love and I already have that, so I'm fine," Gabriella said.

Troy kissed Gabriella's cheek and said, "I know, you're my baby girl and I'll always love you."

Gabriella smiled and asked, "What do you want?"

"Whatever you want to get me," Troy said.

"Which is what?" Gabriella asked.

"Anything," Troy said.

"Okay," Gabriella said. "And you just get me anything, too."

"We're gonna be here for a long time," Troy commented.

"Let's just look," Gabriella said.

"Let's get something that's twelve carats," Troy suggested.

"Sounds good," Gabriella said.

In about fifteen more minutes, Troy and Gabriella had picked out their rings. They were each twelve carats

and had nothing too fancy on them since they didn't want each other to spend lots of money. "Let's go ask about

buying them," Troy said.

Gabriella followed Troy as he walked over to the check-out counter and asked if they could buy the rings.

"You have to order them," the lady at the check-out counter said. "And are you in high school?"

"No....." Troy said, confused.

"Well you look kind of young to be getting married."

"Everyone says that," Troy said, kind of annoyed.

"Wildcat, go sit down on that bench over there," Gabriella said. "You were walking around for a while and

you're not supposed to be. I'll order the rings."

"Okay," Troy said.

Gabriella ordered the rings, then walked over to Troy. "I ordered them and they should be in the store in about

a week or so."

"Okay," Troy said. "I love you."

"Love you, too. Now let's get going; we have work this afternoon," Gabriella said.

"Alright," Troy said, standing up. "I can't wait until I get off these stupid crutches."

"It'll be soon, Wildcat," Gabriella said.

"I'm never breaking a bone again."

"That's fine with me."

________________________________________________________________________________________

Later that day, Troy was talking about Gabriella's birthday, which was gonna be the day after he got his cast

off. "What do you wanna do for your birthday?" asked Troy.

"Just relax, snuggle with you, watch you enjoy not having a cast on," Gabriella replied.

"Do you want cake or anything?"

"I don't want to get a big cake just for us. How about I make some cookies?"

"Chocolate chip?" Troy asked.

"I know that's your favorite," Gabriella said.

"But you like sugar," Troy said.

"But this isn't about me. This is about us," Gabriella said.

"It's gonna be your birthday, though," Troy said.

"But you're the one who's getting a cast off. I want you to have fun," Gabriella told him.

"But it's your birthday," Troy said again.

"And for my birthday I wanna see you happy," Gabriella said.

"Well I'm happy with you," Troy said.

"I'm glad," Gabriella said.

"But I'm still gonna say you have to make cookies you like the best," Troy said.

"I love you, though," Gabriella said.

"I love you, too," Troy said, kissing Gabriella's nose. "Come on, let's go sit down."

Gabriella and Troy sat down on the sofa. "Well I think I know a solution that will solve this problem,"

Gabriella said. "I'll make some sugar cookies and some chocolate chip. Is that better?"

Troy nodded. "Yeah."

"And on the sugar cookies I'm gonna put blue frosting," Gabriella said.

"Can I have the leftover frosting?" asked Troy.

"Alright," Gabriella agreed. "But you're just lucky I love you."

"I know," Troy said. "I am."

"So, do you wanna do anything with me?"

"Can you play basketball with me on the Wii?"

"Sure, but I'm gonna beat you."

"No you're not. I always win this game."

"Let's see." Gabriella turned the game on and got the remotes. "My remote is low on battery," she said.

"Well then I'll win because mine will work better," Troy said.

"Alright, well let's play the game and see who wins," Gabriella suggested. "Alright, it's starting," she said.

Troy and Gabriella played the game, and of course, Troy won. "But you did good, too, my love," he told

Gabriella, kissing her cheek.

"How do you know I didn't let you win?" asked Gabriella.

"Because you were trying to beat me," Troy said.

"Yeah, I was," she said. "I always try to beat you."

"Well maybe on your birthday, I'll let you win."

"What if we don't play on my birthday?"

"I'll make sure we do."

"Don't let me win, just go easy on me," Gabriella told Troy.

"Okay, I won't let you win. Though it's tempting because you're so adorable."

"That's why you spoil me," Gabriella said. "Isn't it?"

"Well for one, I love you more than anything in the world, and for two, you're adorable, and for three, you're

so sweet and I can't say no to you."

"What if I wanted to hit you?" asked Gabriella, laughing.

"Then I would say no," Troy said. "But why would you hit me?"

"I wouldn't. I'm just saying that to see what your answer would be."

"I love you, Gabby. I love you so much."

"I love you, too, Wildcat." Gabriella wrapped her arms around Troy, who hugged her back.

"I love you forever," Troy whispered in Gabriella's ear as he kissed her cheek.


	16. First Day at Berkeley

"Wildcat," Gabriella said, trying to wake Troy up. It was going to be her first day at Berkeley, and Troy never

got up with the alarm clock. "Wildcat, you need to get up now," she told him. She gently kissed his cheek.

"Five more minutes," Troy said, still half-asleep. He pulled Gabriella closer to him.

"No, we need to get up now," Gabriella said. "Vacation is over and I'm starting at your college today."

"Alright," Troy said. He let go of Gabriella and rolled out of bed.

Gabriella got out of bed, too, and started getting dressed. "Wildcat, come on, we have to get ready."

"Okay," Troy said, still sounding sleepy.

"Come on, we don't wanna be late."

"Okay," Troy said, opening the door of the bedroom. Even though him and Gabriella were the only ones living

in their house, they shut their bedroom door when they were sleeping or getting ready because they had gotten

used to it from living with their parents.

"Where are you going?" asked Gabriella. She had finished getting dressed.

"To the bathroom," Troy said.

"I was gonna go in there and do my hair and make-up and brush my teeth," Gabriella said. "I'll come with

you."

"I was gonna brush my teeth, too," Troy said.

"Okay," Gabriella said.

In about twenty minutes, Troy and Gabriella were both ready. "What do you want for breakfast?" asked

Gabriella as they sat down on the sofa.

"What do we have?" asked Troy.

"We have eggs, bacon, cereal, and fruit," Gabriella answered.

"Can I have eggs?" asked Troy.

"Of course," Gabriella said. "I'll make some."

"I can help," Troy said. "I'm not Ryan."

Gabriella laughed as she remembered what had happened at Sharpay's. "I know, Wildcat, but you have

crutches and your ankle is broken."

"I could still do something," Troy said. He looked at Gabriella. "Please? I feel like I'm making you do stuff for

me. And I feel terrible that I'm not helping."

Gabriella looked into Troy's eyes and saw desperation and frustration along with the love that was always

there. "Aw, my poor Wildcat," she said. She hugged him.

Troy hugged Gabriella back. "I love you," he told her.

"I love you, too. Now you only have about two more weeks with the cast, then you'll be done with it. Now I

want you to get better, but I can see you really want to help me. So I'll tell you something to do. I'll bring you my

bag of college stuff and you can look through everything and make sure I have everything I need for theater."

"Okay," Troy said. He smiled. "I'm glad to be helping you."

Gabriella got her college stuff and gave it to Troy. "Here, Wildcat," she said.

"Thanks so much for letting me help you," Troy said. Just as Gabriella started walking away, he said, "Baby

girl, come here."

Gabriella turned around and faced Troy again. "Yeah, Wildcat?"

"I want to kiss you," Troy said.

Gabriella sat next to Troy and felt him press his lips onto hers. She kissed back. When they were done, she

said, "I love you."

"I love you, too, baby girl," Troy told Gabriella. "So much."

"Alright, well let me go make breakfast so we won't be late for college," Gabriella said, standing up.

"Okay," Troy agreed. "And I'll make sure you have all your stuff."

Gabriella made breakfast, both her and Troy ate, then Gabriella got both of their stuff since Troy couldn't

really hold stuff while using crutches, and they went out and walked to Gabriella's car. They got in, then

Gabriella started driving to college.

"You're really gonna like it here," Troy told her.

"I know I will because you're gonna be there," Gabriella said.

"I mean besides that reason," Troy said.

"I'm sure I will," Gabriella said.

"We do lots of things that are really fun in theater," Troy told Gabriella.

"Will I get to kiss you?" asked Gabriella.

"Sure," Troy said.

"Could I sit next to you?" asked Gabriella.

"Of course," Troy replied. "We can pick where we want to sit, and if you want to sit with me, then go ahead. I

would actually love it."

"You don't get tired of me?" asked Gabriella.

"No, I never do. Do you ever get tired of me?"

"Never," Gabriella said. "I love you."

"Gabby, when are our wedding rings gonna be in?" asked Troy.

"It was supposed to be about a week, so any day now," Gabriella said.

"I want to see you wear your ring," Troy said.

"I'll try it on before our wedding," Gabriella promised.

"Great," Troy said.

After about ten more minutes of talking, Gabriella pulled into the parking lot of Berkeley. "Alright," she said.

"Here we are. Now let me find a parking space. Where do you usually park?"

"Usually I can't park real close," Troy said.

"Well since you broke your ankle, I'll drop you off at the door and you can wait for me there," Gabriella sug-

gested.

"Alright," Troy said.

Gabriella drove up to the door, stopped, let Troy get out of the car, then went to find a parking space. She

found one, then parked and walked to the door. "Hey, Wildcat," she said.

"Did you find a parking space okay?" asked Troy.

"Yeah," Gabriella said.

"Great," Troy said. "Now let's go in and I'll show you around."

Troy and Gabriella walked inside the building. "I was here once before," Gabriella said.

"Oh, yeah, that's right," Troy remembered. "Do you remember any of the college?"

"A tiny bit; not much, though," Gabriella replied.

"Alright, well to get to the theater section of the college we have to go on the elevator," Troy said. "There are

stairs, too, but for one it would waste time going up all the stairs and for two I can't go upstairs because of my

ankle."

Gabriella followed Troy over to the elevator. "We go up," he said, "By two floors."

"Okay," Gabriella said.

They both went up to the right floor, then Troy said, "We go in this room."

Gabriella followed Troy into a very big room. She had been there once before with him, so she remembered it

a little. "So do we sit in these chairs?" she asked, looking at the lined up rows of chairs where a few students

were already sitting.

"Yeah," Troy said. "Come on, you can sit with me." He led Gabriella over to a spot where there were two

empty chairs. They both sat down.

"Is this your fiancé? I didn't know she came here," asked Nicole, the girl who had wanted Troy to go out with

her but then seen that he was engaged. She recognized Gabriella from the one time she had been at class with

Troy after she had been kidnapped.

"Yeah," Troy answered. "This is her first day."

"Oh, hi," Nicole said to Gabriella.

"Hi," Gabriella said.

"I'm Nicole. Is this your first time at college?"

"No, I switched over from Stanford. And I'm Gabriella."

"I heard Stanford is really hard. You must have been good to get accepted there."

"Yeah," Gabriella said. "But it was too hard once I got there. They wanted everyone to get all As all the time."

"That sounds a little weird."

"It was. And they wanted me to study for three hours every night and I have a part-time job after college, so it

wasn't working out."

"Where do you work?"

"At a pet store."

"That sounds kind of fun."

"And then I have to come home, study, and make dinner and eat and then I just like to relax for a little bit

before bed. And I didn't want to eat dinner at nine-thirty at night, so I got really mad at Stanford."

"So do you live down here by yourself? It would be so cool if I had my own house. I live here at the college."

"Well Troy and I rent an apartment because we're getting married New Years' Eve, so we wanted to have a

house."

"I used to live about three hours away. Still in California, though. So I have to stay here."

"I was gonna stay at my mom's house which is about five minutes away from Stanford, but then Troy and I got

engaged and we decided to move somewhere in between Stanford and Berkeley so we could live together and

still be able to get to college."

"Are you from California?"

"No. I've lived in several different houses my whole life. It was because of my mom's job. We always had to

move."

"That sounds like it would get tiring after a while."

"It did."

Nicole didn't have time to say anything else because then the class started.

"Okay everyone," said a lady with light brown hair. "Let's get started."

"That's Mrs. Dayton," Troy whispered in Gabriella's ear. "She's one of the directors and a teacher."

Gabriella nodded to show Troy she had heard him.

"To start out, we're gonna practice projecting our voices. This is one of the most important things in theater,"

Mrs. Dayton said.

"How do you do this exactly?" Gabriella whispered to Troy.

"You have to stand up straight and talk loudly but not yell," Troy whispered back. "It's kind of hard for me to

explain."

"Oh, okay," Gabriella whispered. "I think I get the idea."

________________________________________________________________________________________

After the theater class was over, Gabriella had about an hour minutes before her chemistry course started, so

she decided to find a place to sit down with Troy. "So, when do we eat lunch?" she asked.

"Now," Troy said. "You've gotta eat in between courses. I know it's only eleven, but you have to eat

whenever."

"Oh, okay," Gabriella said. "Can we eat here?"

"Yeah, you can eat wherever. When it gets to be spring, we can eat outside even," Troy said.

Just then a boy with blonde hair walked over to Troy and Gabriella. "Hey, you're really pretty," he told

Gabriella.

"Um...." Gabriella said, a little nervous.

"She's mine," Troy said, wrapping one of his arms around Gabriella's shoulders and holding her hand so that

the boy could see her engagement ring.

"Oh," the boy said in disappointment. Then he walked away with a disappointed look on his face.

"That was odd," Gabriella commented.

"This is how I feel," Troy said. "Girls always are like, 'You're so cute.'"

"I feel bad for you," Gabriella said.

"I tell them all no," Troy continued. "Because obviously I have you."

"But it's not your fault you're adorable," Gabriella said.

"And it's not your fault you're adorable," Troy said.

Gabriella smiled. "I love you."

"Love you, too."

"Alright, well here's your lunch," Troy said, handing Gabriella a sandwich and a water bottle.

"Thanks, Wildcat," Gabriella said.

"No problem," Troy said.

________________________________________________________________________________________

"So how did you like Berkeley?" asked Troy. It was evening, and Troy and Gabriella were snuggled up toget-

her on the sofa.

"It was fun," Gabriella said. "I guess Nicole stopped bothering you if she's being nice to me."

"Yeah," Troy said. "She stopped as soon as she saw I had a fiancé and she stopped being bratty."

"She seems pretty nice now," Gabriella said.

"You're nicer, my love," Troy told Gabriella, pressing a kiss onto her cheek.

Gabriella smiled. "So our wedding is in less than a month," she said.

"I know. And I'm so excited," Troy said, hugging Gabriella close to his side and kissing her on the nose.

Gabriella looked at Troy with love in her brown eyes. "Troy, what do you see when you look in my eyes?" she

asked.

"I'd be happy to tell you, but why do you want to know?" asked Troy.

"Because when I look in your eyes, I see love and affection," Gabriella said. "And I can also tell your feelings

by looking in your eyes. Right now I can tell you're feeling relaxed and happy. But sometimes, I can see

disappointment, sadness, or anger."

"Well I see love and affection in your eyes, too," Troy said. "And I can see your feelings, too. We know each

other so well."

"What am I feeling now?" asked Gabriella.

"You're relaxed, you're enjoying our time alone, and you never want it to end," Troy told Gabriella.

"Wow! You are really good!" Gabriella said.

"Well I have to know you," Troy said. "Because if you ever decide to hide your feelings from me, I'll be able

to tell what you're feeling."

Gabriella smiled. "Don't worry. I'll never keep secrets from you."

"And I'll never keep secrets from you."

"So, did you like having me in your class today?" asked Gabriella.

"I loved it," Troy replied. "What was your favorite thing about the class?"

"When we had to do the skits to practice acting in a long play," Gabriella said. "I kept messing up, but it was

still fun."

"You did fine," Troy told Gabriella.

"I kept getting corrected, though, Wildcat," Gabriella said.

"It's okay. I did, too on my first day there."

"What else do you usually do in theater?" asked Gabriella.

"Well we do warm-ups like we did today with projecting our voices. Then sometimes we do acting warm-ups

which are practicing expressions or reacting to lines that someone says."

"Sounds fun," Gabriella said. "I can't wait for tomorrow."

"Me neither," Troy said. "And I can't wait until I can play basketball instead of just watch everyone else play

it."

"That must be frustrating," Gabriella said.

"It is. I wish I could play," Troy said.

"You'll be able to soon enough, Wildcat," Gabriella assured him.

"Thanks, my love," Troy said to Gabriella.

"You're welcome," Gabriella said.

"You do know I love you so much and I love you more than anything, don't you?" asked Troy.

"Of course," Gabriella said. "And I love you too. I love you so much and I love you more than anything."

"You're my baby," Troy said.

"And you're my Wildcat."

"Forever?"

"Forever. I promise. Do you promise I'll be your baby forever?"

"Promise."

"I love you, Wildcat," Gabriella said.

"I love you, too, baby girl," Troy said back.

"Can you kiss me?" asked Gabriella.

Troy pressed his lips onto Gabriella's and kissed her affectionately. Gabriella kissed Troy back. When they

were done, the looked into each other's eyes and then kissed again. They were so happy they had each other.


	17. Gabriella's Birthday

It was the morning of Gabriella's birthday. Troy and Gabriella were still snuggled up together in bed since it

was a Saturday. Troy was awake, but Gabriella was still sound asleep in his arms. He decided to let her sleep for

as long as she wanted because it was her birthday. Then he remembered that he never did wake her up on

weekends. Or weekdays, because she was always the one to wake him up.

In about five minutes, Gabriella's eyes half opened. "Troy," she said sleepily. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Troy told Gabriella.

Gabriella snuggled further into Troy and closed her eyes all the way again. Troy smiled and held her close. He

liked that the first thing she told him when she was half awake was 'I love you.'

In ten more minutes, Gabriella's eyes opened all the way and she looked up at Troy. Troy covered her face

with kisses to say 'good morning,' which made Gabriella smile. "Thanks for the birthday present," she said.

Troy kissed Gabriella's nose. "You're welcome," he told her. "Now maybe you can give me a few kisses to say

'thank you.'"

Gabriella covered Troy's face with kisses just as he had done to her. Then she let her head rest on his chest

and relaxed. "What time is it?" she asked.

"Nine-thirty," Troy told Gabriella, beginning to stroke her hair gently. "You were sleepy this morning."

"Well we were up late. Are you glad your cast is finally off?" Gabriella asked Troy.

"Yes," Troy said. "Very happy. I hated having that thing and having to use crutches."

"But remember, you still can't play basketball for a week or so just to make sure your ankle is healed all the

way," Gabriella said.

"At least I can hold you," Troy said.

Gabriella smiled and said, "I love you so much, Wildcat."

"I love you, too, my baby girl," Troy said. "So much."

Troy pulled Gabriella closer to him and kissed her nose. "You're sweet."

"Thanks," Gabriella said.

"Are you still tired?" asked Troy.

"A little," Gabriella said.

"Well how about we just stay in bed for a little and snuggle with each other?" Troy suggested.

"That sounds good," Gabriella agreed.

Troy pressed a kiss into Gabriella's cheek. "You're my baby girl," he said.

Gabriella smiled. "You're my Wildcat."

After half an hour of snuggling, Gabriella said, "Wildcat, I think I'm ready to get up now."

"Okay," Troy said. "I'll get up, too."

"Can you take a shower with me?" asked Gabriella. "Now that your cast is off?"

"Of course, my love," Troy said. "I miss taking showers and baths with you."

"I missed it, too," Gabriella told Troy. "So much. I always think it's nice to have that special time together that

we can't have with anyone else. Well we could, but it would be really embarrassing to me. You're the only one

who's allowed in the bathroom with me and you're the only one who's allowed to be with me when I'm getting

changed."

"I'm glad," Troy said. "I would be kind of mad if you just let anyone who wanted to go in the bathroom with

you."

"You're the only one I would even want with me. I would hate it if someone else went in the bathroom with

me. And why are we even having this conversation?"

Troy laughed. "I don't know. Let's just go get a shower."

Gabriella stood up. Troy did, too, then they both walked out of their room and into the bathroom. They both

undressed, got in the shower, soaped each other up gently, rinsed off, got out and rubbed each other dry.

Then, wrapped in towels, they went into their room to get dressed. "Wildcat, I'm really cold," Gabriella said,

starting to shiver.

Troy went over to Gabriella and hugged her. "Aw, poor baby," he said, kissing her nose. "You'd better get

dressed quick and then snuggle with me again," Troy said.

Gabriella smiled. "That sounds good."

"Okay," Troy whispered into her ear softly before letting her go.

Gabriella and Troy both quickly got dressed, then climbed onto their bed to snuggle. "I love you," Gabriella

said.

"Love you," Troy said back, wrapping his arms around Gabriella's waist and pulling her close to his side. "So

much."

Gabriella leaned against Troy's chest and closed her eyes to relax. "You're my Wildcat," she told him.

"And you're my baby girl," Troy said, gently stroking Gabriella's still wet hair.

In about five minutes, Troy picked Gabriella up and carried her out to the living room where he sat on the sofa

and put her in his lap. "I love you," he said.

Gabriella hugged Troy. "I love you, too," she told him.

"Are you having a happy birthday?" asked Troy.

Gabriella nodded against Troy's shoulder where she had rested her head. "The best birthday ever," she added.

"I love you so much," Troy said. "So very much."

"Love you, too," Gabriella said.

"Do you want anything for breakfast?" asked Troy.

"Wildcat, it's eleven o' clock. I think it's a little late for breakfast," Gabriella said.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot it was this late," Troy said.

"I'm really warm," Gabriella said, snuggling further into Troy.

"I'm glad," Troy said. He pressed a kiss onto her head as she buried her face against him. "You really love me,

don't you?" he asked.

"Yes," Gabriella said_._

Troy wrapped his arms around Gabriella and pulled her closer to him. "Remember the first night you stayed at

my house?" he asked.

"Yeah," Gabriella said.

"You snuggled as soon as I got into bed next to you. It was so cute!" Troy said.

"I got attached to you easily," Gabriella told Troy.

"Aw, you're so cute!" Troy said.

"You say that every day, Wildcat," Gabriella said, closing her eyes to relax.

"So, what do you wanna do today for your birthday? Anything special?" asked Troy.

"Snuggle with you," Gabriella replied.

"Okay," Troy said. He loved that Gabriella always wanted to be by his side.

"I'm glad you finally have your cast off," Gabriella told Troy.

"Me, too," Troy said.

"And I hope you never break a bone again," Gabriella said.

"If I do, I'm gonna be mad," Troy said.

Gabriella laughed. "Wildcat, you can be so silly and crazy sometimes."

"You can be, too," Troy told Gabriella, pulling her close to his body and kissing her cheek.

Gabriella squeezed her eyes shut tighter and just enjoyed having Troy press her close to him and kiss her. "I

love it when you're affectionate," she said, smiling.

"Aw, baby girl, why wouldn't I be affectionate with you? You know I love you more than anything in this

world."

"I love you, too," Gabriella said, snuggling further into Troy and hugging him tightly.

"Baby girl," Troy said, "We're gonna be married in only about half a month." He hugged Gabriella back.

"I'm so happy," Gabriella said.

"Six months was too long to wait," Troy said, "But when we get married at the same place we met, on the

same date, it'll be worth it."

"A lot of people like summer weddings better," Gabriella said. "But I don't see why."

"Me, neither. I like having it on a day that means something to us," Troy said.

"And every year on our anniversary, there will be fireworks," Gabriella said.

"Hey, do you want to redo that time at midnight when you left the night we met?" asked Troy.

"Yes," Gabriella said. "I didn't want it to end in a good-bye. I wanted it to end in a midnight kiss even though I

just met you."

"Yeah, me too," Troy said. "But I didn't know if you wanted to be kissed when we only knew each other for an

hour."

"I loved you already," Gabriella told Troy.

"I love you, too," Troy said. "You know, we were only dating for a little over a year before we got engaged?"

Gabriella thought for a minute. "Yeah, I guess we were."

"We've only known each other for almost two years."

"But it feels like it's been forever."

"Yeah," Troy agreed, kissing Gabriella's cheek and pulling her even closer.

"We fell in love fast," Gabriella said.

"But we are so much in love," Troy said.

"I know. I got attached to you so fast."

"I know. It was so cute!"

"Troy, are you hungry?" asked Gabriella.

"A little. Since it's your birthday, I'll make lunch."

"I can," Gabriella insisted.

"Baby girl, you've been making lunch for as long as I was on crutches."

"Yeah, you're right. I won't, then."

"Thanks, baby girl," Troy said, putting her down next to him on the sofa and kissing her cheek before getting

up to go in the kitchen. "What do you want for lunch?" he asked.

"Surprise me," Gabriella said.

"Okay, baby," Troy agreed. He made lunch, then came back out into the living room where Gabriella was.

"Here you go," he said, handing Gabriella a plate with a turkey sandwich and some snack mix. "Is this okay?"

"Perfect, Wildcat. Thank you."

As Troy sat down, Gabriella kissed his cheek for a thank-you gift. "You're welcome," Troy said, kissing

Gabriella's cheek. "And I love you."

"I love you, too. When I'm done my lunch, I'm gonna make the cookies. Wanna help?"

"Sure," Troy said. "I'd love to."

In about fifteen minutes, Troy and Gabriella finished eating and went into the kitchen to make cookies. "Okay,

Wildcat," Gabriella said. "First we need flour."

Troy grabbed a bag of flour and handed it to Gabriella. "Here."

When Gabriella was taking it from him, she dropped it, leaving it to explode on the floor and get both her and

Troy messy. It was sticking in Gabriella's hair since it was damp still from her shower. "Oh, great," she said in an

annoyed voice. "Stupid me."

"You're not stupid," Troy said. "It was my fault."

"No, it was my fault," Gabriella said.

"Well let's get another bag of flour and try again. I'll clean up the floor and get you cleaned up after the

cookies are done," Troy said.

"I'll help clean up the floor," Gabriella offered.

"No, baby girl. I need to make it up to you for all the time you spent doing stuff for me while I was on

crutches," Troy insisted.

Gabriella reluctantly agreed. "Okay," she said.

"Great. Now, here's another thing of flour," Troy said, putting an unopened bag on the counter.

Gabriella put some flour in the bowl they had gotten down. "Alright," she said.

After mixing together all the ingredients for the chocolate chip cookies, Troy and Gabriella both rolled out the

batter and put it on a pan. Of course they got the both the kitchen and themselves more messy from eating some

of the chocolate chips that they were putting in. Once they had everything on the pan, Gabriella put it in the oven

to bake while they got started on the sugar cookies. That made a bit more of a mess. When the chocolate chip

cookies were done, Troy took them out of the oven and Gabriella put the sugar cookies in. When those were

done, her and Troy both frosted them, but ate some of the frosting as they were putting it on. "Gabby, you have

some frosting on your nose," Troy said.

Gabriella laughed. "You have some all over your face."

Just then, the doorbell rang. "Let me go see who it is," Gabriella said. When she went to the door, she saw that

it was her mom. She got a little annoyed. "Hi," she said.

"GABRIELLA! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?" asked Mrs. Montez.

"Baking cookies with Troy," Gabriella said.

"Okay......" Mrs. Montez said. She walked into the house and saw the kitchen. "Do you know how to bake?"

she asked.

"Yeah," Gabriella said. "I just accidentally dropped the flour."

"Why is there chocolate and dough all over?"

Gabriella went back over to sit next to Troy at the dining room table where he was still frosting cookies. "We

were just playing around," she said.

Troy looked at Gabriella and gently licked the frosting off of her nose. "There, you don't have frosting on your

face anymore," he said.

Gabriella smiled at how good it had felt to her. "Thanks," she said.

"No problem," Troy said. "Hi Mrs. Montez," he said to Gabriella's mom.

"Hi," Mrs. Montez said, not in a real friendly tone.

"Wildcat, I guess all the cookies are done," Gabriella said.

"Yeah. Let me go clean up the flour in the kitchen," Troy said.

"I wanna come," Gabriella said, following Troy as he got up and went into the kitchen. "I'll get you a broom,"

she told him. She left the kitchen, then came back a minute later. "Here," she said, handing it to Troy.

"Thanks, baby girl," Troy said to Gabriella.

"Gabriella, while Troy cleans up, why don't you tell me about how hard it must be for you to live on your

own," Mrs. Montez said.

"It's not hard," Gabriella said. "Me and Troy both work and we both help each other, so it's fine."

"Well then what about college? Are you keeping your grades up at Stanford?" asked Mrs. Montez.

"Well......" Gabriella said, not knowing what to say to her mom. "College is fine," she replied confidently and

briefly so her mom wouldn't know she wasn't going to Stanford anymore.

"Good," Mrs. Montez said. "I'm glad to know that one of you will be getting a good job, though I do feel bad

that you're gonna be the one making money and not Troy."

"We're both gonna be earning money," Gabriella said.

"Okay," Mrs. Montez said.

Just then, Troy came out from the kitchen. "Baby girl, the kitchen is cleaned up." He went over to Gabriella

and pressed a gentle, affectionate kiss onto her cheek.

Gabriella smiled. "Thanks, Wildcat," she said. "Um, Mom, we've gotta quick go get cleaned up," she told her

mom.

"Alright," Mrs. Montez said.

Troy lifted Gabriella off of the ground and held her in his arms. "Let's go take our second shower today," he

said.

Gabriella smiled and rested her head on Troy's shoulder. "Um, we might be awhile," she told her mom. "Don't

do anything in the house until we come back."

Troy carried Gabriella into the bathroom and shut the door behind them. "Alright, I think we should take a

bath actually," he said. "You look stressed." He started the water.

"Wildcat, we need to go get a change of clothes," Gabriella said. Then, quieter, she added, "I don't want us to

walk around in towels while my mom's here. It would make me uncomfortable and it would just be weird."

"Okay," Troy agreed. He knew that Gabriella was very private and he respected that. He liked the fact that

she felt more comfortable around him than anyone else. Anyway, he thought it would kind of be weird, too, so

he went out of the bathroom and got both of them clothes. When he came back in, he said, "Honey, your mom

wants to talk to you. She told me to tell you. She seemed annoyed."

"All I want to do is relax," Gabriella said.

"Then just talk to her later," Troy said.

"No, then she'll get even madder. I'll just get it over with now." She went out of the bathroom and into the

living room.

"Gabriella, I want to let you know that I don't think it's appropriate for you and Troy to be using the bathroom

at the same time," Mrs. Montez said.

"It's fine," Gabriella said. "We do all the time."

"But it's kind of freaking me out," Mrs. Montez said. "So I think I'm just gonna go. Bye." She stood up and

walked to the door.

"Bye," Gabriella said as her mom left. Then, she went back into the bathroom. "Hey, Wildcat," she said.

"Hey, baby girl," Troy said, helping Gabriella out of her clothes and putting her in the bath tub before getting

in with her. "So, what did your mom say?" he asked as he began to gently massage Gabriella's shoulders as he

washed her up.

Gabriella leaned into Troy and closed her eyes. "That feels so good," she told him. "And my mom said that

she thought it was inappropriate for us to be using the bathroom at the same time. Then she left."

"That was odd," Troy said.

"I told her it was fine, but she just said, 'It's kind of freaking me out, so I'm just gonna go. Bye.'"

"Okay....." Troy said, confused.

"I know, it was weird," Gabriella said. She took the soap and started rubbing it over Troy.

After twenty minutes, Troy and Gabriella got out of the tub, dried each other off, got dressed, and went to eat

cookies. "These are so good," Troy told Gabriella.

"I know," Gabriella agreed.

After their cookies, Troy gave Gabriella her birthday present, which was a picture of them in high school that

he had always kept in his locker. Troy had his arm around Gabriella and they were both looking at each other and

smiling. It was framed with a nice picture frame. "Aw, Troy," Gabriella said. "That's so sweet. I love it. Thanks

so much, Wildcat." She wrapped her arms around Troy.

Troy hugged Gabriella back and kissed her head. "And I wrote a note on the back of the picture. I wrote it in

high school, and it was a note to myself. Read it."

Gabriella let go of Troy, carefully took the picture out of the frame and said, "It says, 'One day this will be

so much more than it is now. One day I will make Gabriella a Bolton and she will be part of my family.'"

Gabriella let a few happy tears slide down her cheeks. "Troy," she said, smiling, "That is so sweet." She

hugged him again. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Troy said. "So much." He hugged Gabriella back until she lifted her head and stared into his

eyes, meaning that she wanted a few kisses.

Troy pressed his lips onto Gabriella's and they kissed, gently love-biting each other. Then they broke apart and

kissed again and again. "Happy birthday," Troy said as Gabriella snuggled into him.

"Thanks, Wildcat," Gabriella said, still smiling. She thought about how lucky she was to have what she had.

She had a house, she had a car, she was doing well in college,-but most of all, she had Troy, who she knew was

the only one she needed. Even if she didn't have anything else, she had Troy, and if she had him, she had

everything, because Troy was everything to her. He was her fiancé, her love, and her best friend. He was all she

would ever need.


	18. Start of Something New

Gabriella and Troy both sat up in bed and hurriedly got out. Usually, they were in no hurry to stop snuggling

up together and get ready, but this day was different. It was the day they were going to be Troy and Gabriella

Bolton, husband and wife. They got dressed in the clothes they were going to get married in and Gabriella did her

hair. She didn't do anything fancy, she just parted it at the side and let her curls hang like they always did. Then,

she put on a tiny bit of make-up. Only lip gloss, eye shadow, and a little foundation. She didn't want it to be too

heavy or else she would look like she was going to be in a play soon.

"Gabby, you look so pretty," Troy said, walking behind Gabriella and hugging her. He was wearing his

basketball uniform and sneakers and his hair was how he normally had it. He didn't want to look dressed up at

all. Gabriella wanted to look nice, but not dressed up.

"Thanks, Wildcat, you look handsome," Gabriella said, snuggling into her fiancé and letting a few happy tears

fall. "I'm so happy," she said.

"Me, too," Troy said, kissing Gabriella's cheek.

"I'm so happy that by the end of this day, I'm gonna be your wife," Gabriella said, letting another happy tear

fall.

"I know, I can't believe it. I love you so much and I thought I would never see you again when you left for

Stanford. And now you're gonna be my wife," Troy said.

"I love you, too," Gabriella said.

"Alright, well let's see, do we have everything we need?" asked Troy.

"Yes, I'm all packed," Gabriella told Troy. "Are you?"

"Yeah, I'm ready to go, too."

"What time does our plane leave again?"

"In an hour. So are you ready?"

Gabriella nodded. "I just need to get my flip-flops. However ridiculous it sounded to wear flip-flops in the

middle of winter, Gabriella didn't care because if she wore sandals, she would look too dressy. She walked into the

bedroom, slipped on her white flip-flops, then walked into the living room with Troy, each of them holding their

bags. They quickly stopped to look at their Christmas tree which was still up with all the unwrapped presents

around it. They had had a great Christmas day that year, but not as great as this day would be.

"Alright, you ready to go?" asked Troy, grabbing Gabriella's hand affectionately.

Gabriella looked into Troy's eyes, smiled, and nodded. "I love you," she said.

"Love you, too," Troy said.

They quickly kissed each other before they walked out the door and loaded their stuff into Troy's car. Then,

they both got in and Troy drove to the airport. They handed in their bags, then got on the plane. It started traveling

in about ten minutes.

"Gabby, you want anything?" asked Troy.

Gabriella shook her head no. "I'm okay," she said.

"Alright," Troy said.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Troy and Gabriella stepped out of the plane and grabbed their luggage. "Let's go over there and rent a car,"

Troy suggested. There was a car rental place right next to the airport.

"Okay," Gabriella said.

After finding a car, Troy drove to the ski lodge. As they pulled in, Gabriella started happy-crying. "This is

where I first saw you," she said.

"I know," Troy said. "We have good memories of this place and tonight, we're gonna leave with even better

ones."

Gabriella smiled and leaned against Troy's shoulder. "I love you," she said.

"Love you, too," Troy told Gabriella.

Troy and Gabriella got out of the car, grabbed their bags, and went inside. "Let's go to the front desk to see

where our room is," Troy said, walking over to the front desk.

"Hello, what can I do for you?" asked the lady who was at the desk.

"We are Troy and Gabriella Bolton," Troy said.

Gabriella smiled as she heard Troy call her by her new name for the first time. They had just both gotten a

room under Troy's last name because for most of the time they would be there, Gabriella would be a Bolton.

"We have a room reserved," Troy continued.

"Oh, I found you. Your wedding's tonight, isn't it?" asked the lady.

Troy nodded. "Yeah, we're so excited."

"Alright, well here's your key card and have fun!" the lady said.

"Believe me, we will," Troy said, half to Gabriella.

Gabriella smiled and followed Troy over to the section where the rooms were. He found the right room,

unlocked the door, and stepped inside, holding the door open for Gabriella. Once they were both in, he shut it. "I

can't wait," Gabriella said, putting down her bags.

"Me neither," Troy said. "Let's see, it's twelve o' clock. Wanna go grab some lunch quick before we have to

start making sure everything's good for our wedding?"

"Sure," Gabriella agreed. "I love you so much," she added.

"Love you, too," Troy said back. They were saying 'I love you' a lot that day, mostly because they were in an

extra-loving mood dye to their wedding.

Troy and Gabriella left their room and found a place in the resort to get lunch. They both got sandwiches.

When they were done eating, they went back to their room and unpacked their stuff to get settled in. "It's twelve-

thirty," Gabriella said.

"And our wedding doesn't start until six," Troy said. "That's five and a half hours."

"It better start on time," Gabriella said.

"I know. You know what? We're starting even if no one is on time. Because I can't wait any longer than I

already have to wait," Troy told Gabriella.

"Good idea," Gabriella agreed. "I don't think I could wait, either."

Troy sat down on the bed and held out his arms so Gabriella could climb onto his lap and curl up in them.

Gabriella went over to Troy and wrapped her arms around him, pulling herself onto his lap. Troy held her close

and stroked her hair gently. "I love you," he whispered.

"I love you, too," Gabriella said back. She snuggled into Troy and put her head on his shoulder.

"I love you so much," Troy said.

"I love you so so much," Gabriella said. "I finally beat you."

"Well I love you so much it would take me the rest of my life to say all the 'so's' in the sentence."

"Well it would take me past my life to finish."

"What do you want to do?" asked Troy.

"Snuggle," Gabriella answered, climbing off of Troy's lap and getting under the blankets.

Troy did the same as Gabriella and pulled her close to him. "We're gonna be up late tonight," he said. "Why

don't we take a short nap?"

"Okay," Gabriella said, closing her eyes and snuggling into Troy. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Troy said, kissing Gabriella's cheek.

Within ten minutes, Troy and Gabriella were both fast asleep in each other's arms.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Gabriella opened her eyes and looked over at the clock, still cuddled up in Troy's arms. _1:32. Troy can sleep for_

_a while longer,_ she thought. So she laid her head back down because for one, she was comfortable snuggling with

Troy and for two, Troy would wake up if she left the bed. They both spoiled each other in that way, staying in bed

even if one of them was awake so the other could sleep comfortably. They knew they could never spend a night

apart. If they did, they wouldn't be able to sleep. Now that they were used to snuggling, neither one of them knew

how they slept for the past eighteen years of their life before Gabriella started staying at Troy's house over the

summer.

Just then, Troy's eyes opened and he smiled when he saw Gabriella still snuggled into him. "Hi, baby girl," he

said.

"Hi, Wildcat," Gabriella said back.

Troy kissed Gabriella's cheek. "What do you want to do now?" he asked.

"How about we-" Gabriella was cut off by a knock at their door.

"I'll get it," Troy said, slowly taking his arms away from Gabriella and rolling out of the bed. He went to the

door and opened it. "Chad!" he said.

"Hey," Chad said. "Wanna play some basketball? Jason and Zeke are waiting at the basketball court. I asked

for your room number so I could ask if you wanted you play."

"Gabby, is it okay if I play basketball?" Troy asked Gabriella.

"Go ahead," Gabriella said. "You missed playing it when we were all together for Thanksgiving. I'll be there to

watch in a minute."

"Okay," Troy said. "I'll wait for you."

"Thanks, Wildcat," Gabriella said. She got out of the bed, fixed her hair a little, then slipped her shoes back on

and went out of the room with Troy, who gently took her hand, not wanting to let go of her that day.

When they got to the basketball court, Gabriella sat down to watch as Troy played basketball with his friends.

He was on a team with Chad, and of course they won. Gabriella walked over to Troy to give him a hug and a kiss.

Then, looking at the clock in the room, she said, "Wildcat, it's quarter of three. What do you wanna do?"

"I think we should go relax a little before our wedding," Troy said. "Chad, Zeke, Jason, see you guys later,"

Troy said to his friends.

"Bye," Chad, Zeke, and Jason all said at the same time.

Troy and Gabriella went back to their room and sat down next to each other on the bed, Troy hugging Gabriella

close to him and kissing her cheek. "I love you," he said.

"Love you, too," Gabriella said, leaning against Troy's shoulder. "Are you glad you finally got to play

basketball?"

"Yeah," Troy said. "But I'm more excited for tonight."

"I can't wait," Gabriella agreed. "I wish it was time for the wedding now."

"I think we're lucky we didn't plan a huge wedding. We wouldn't have gotten to have that little bit of snuggling

and a nap and I wouldn't have gotten to play basketball because we wouldn't even be with each other."

"I know. I like that we're doing it differently and that I don't have to wait to walk down an aisle to see you. I

think it's better that we're gonna both be there together and at the same time."

"Me, too," Troy agreed.

Until about four-thirty, Troy and Gabriella just talked some more, mostly about the wedding. Then, when they

realized what time it was, they both quickly got on their shoes and Gabriella fixed her make-up and hair, but only

a little bit. She didn't want to look like one of those perfect girls at all the weddings she ever went to. That was one

reason why she left her hair down and did it on her own instead of going to a salon to have it put up in a fancy

style. Anyway, Troy loved her the way she was, so she wasn't going to look any different than she usually did.

"I'm ready to go," Troy said, walking up to Gabriella. "You look so pretty; prettier than if you had on a

wedding dress and pounds of make-up."

Gabriella smiled. She knew Troy didn't like it when girls wore tons of make-up, so that was a reason why she

didn't put much on. The other reason was that she didn't like having tons of make-up on her face. "I'm ready, too,

Wildcat," Gabriella said, hugging Troy. "I love you," she said.

Troy hugged Gabriella. "I love you, too, baby girl," he said, kissing her head and gently playing with her hair.

"Oh, Wildcat, do you have the rings?" asked Gabriella.

"Oh, no," Troy said. "Let me go get them." Letting go of Gabriella, he walked over to his bag and got the rings.

"Here," he said, handing Gabriella his ring and keeping hers so that they could give them to each other at the

wedding.

"Thanks, Wildcat," Gabriella said. "I love you."

"Love you, too, honey," Troy said. "Now lets go." Taking Gabriella's hand, he went over to the door and

opened it, Gabriella walking with him. They went to the room where everything had started. The room they first

saw each other in, the room where they first liked each other. And it was soon going to be the room where they

were married in.

"Troy, I'm gonna cry," Gabriella said.

"I know, I know, it's so happy. You can cry," Troy told her softly, putting his arms around her as a few happy

tears slipped down her cheeks.

"Wildcat, I love you," Gabriella whispered.

"I love you, too," Troy said, kissing her cheek. "And this is one of my three favorite places in the world."

"What are your other two?" asked Gabriella. "Wait, let me guess. The places only we knew. The garden at East

High and your tree house, right?"

Troy nodded. "I can't believe how well you know me," he said.

Just then, a guy came into the room. Troy knew that it was the guy who had made them sing together two years

ago. "Hey," he said. "I recognize you two."

"Hey," Troy said.

Gabriella smiled. "Hi," she said.

"Well I'm Brian," said the guy. "I don't think I ever introduced myself."

"No, you didn't. I'm Troy and this is Gabriella, who's my fiancé for another hour or so," Troy said.

"Thanks for asking me to help with your wedding," Brian said.

"No problem," Troy said. "I had to do something since you helped us find each other."

"Well do you want to help decorate?" asked Brian.

"Sure," Troy and Gabriella both said. They began to help decorate the room in simple red and white

decorations.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

"Troy, Troy!" Gabriella said. "It's five-fifty-five! We only have five more minutes!"

Troy walked over to Gabriella, picked her up, and hugged her tightly. "I love you," he said.

"Love you," Gabriella said.

Suddenly, they realized that everyone was sitting down waiting for the wedding to start. Except Gabriella's

mom. Gabriella figured she wasn't coming because she got too mad at her. But then she saw her walk in the room

and sit down. She was actually not wearing the dress she had always wanted, but she was wearing lots of make-up

and a dress a little too dressy for the informal wedding. Just then, the clock turned to six o' clock.

"Gabriella," Troy said, hugging her closer to him, tighter than he had ever hugged her before, and kissing her

head, "I love you."

Gabriella hugged Troy back just as tight. Happy tears were in her eyes, the prettiest eyes Troy had ever seen in

his life, for yet another time. "I love you, too."

Just then, they heard Brian say, "Alright, it's six o' clock. We're ready to start," into one of the microphones on

the karaoke stage to get everyone's attention. "Welcome everyone," he said. "Exactly two years ago, around this

same time, I randomly picked Troy and Gabriella to sing together at a party here, in this same room. I said that

one day they would thank me for it, but I was half-joking because I thought that they would sing, get it over with,

and never see each other again. But I also thought there was a slim chance that they would date, though I never

thought it would go this far. So now, we're gonna show you how it happened." Brian did the same thing he did at

the party two years ago. He made Troy and Gabriella come onto stage and but instead of saying they were going to

thank him for it, he said, "I'm glad you thanked me for this." Then, he turned on the karaoke machine and Troy and

Gabriella started singing the song they first sang together, the song they fell in love with each other because of.

_Living in my own world_

_Didn't understand_

_That anything_

_When you take a chance can happen_

_I never believed in_

_What I couldn't see_

_I never opened my heart_

_To all the possibilities_

_I know that something has changed_

_Never felt this way_

_And right here tonight_

_This could be the start_

_Of something new_

_It feels so right_

_To be here with you ..oh_

_And now ... looking in your eyes_

_I feel in my heart_

_The start of something new_

_Now who'd of ever thought that_

_We'd both be here tonight _

_And the world looks so much brighter_

_With you by my side_

_I know that something has changed_

_Never felt this way_

_I know it for real_

_This could be the start_

_Of something new_

_It feels so right_

_To be here with you_

_And now looking in your eyes_

_I feel in my heart_

_The start of something new_

_I never knew that it could happen_

_Till it happened to me_

_I didn't know it before _

_But now it's easy to see_

_It's a start _

_Of something new_

_It feels so right_

_To be here with you_

_And now looking in your eyes_

_I feel in my heart_

_That it's the start _

_Of something new_

_It feels so right _

_To be here with you_

_And now looking in your eyes_

_I feel in my heart_

_The start of something new_

_Start of something new_

Everyone clapped. By this time, Gabriella's cheeks were soaked with happy tears. Troy put his arm around her

and kissed a few of them away. Even though people were watching, he didn't care. Gabriella smiled at him and

then, in the microphone, said, "I want to say something. Now, you already heard how we met, but I want to fill in

a few details. For one, we were both terrified when we found out we had to sing in front of people. And I didn't

think we were gonna thank Brian, either. But after we were done singing, we started talking and we got each

others' numbers. We didn't think we would see each other again, and we thought if we did, it wouldn't be for a very

long time. But then, after Christmas break was over, I found out that the new school I was going to was Troy's

school. I was so happy. Then, we started dating and over the summer, we had our first kiss. Then, in senior year,

we thought we would lose each other forever because we were planning to go to different colleges that were far

from each other." Gabriella started crying again. "I had to leave for my college, Stanford, early. And I didn't want

to keep going back and forth for prom and graduation because I thought I had to say good bye to Troy, and I knew

it would be too hard to do that if I came back again. So I called him and I told him and I also said something I

never told him before. I told him I loved him. But I didn't give him a chance to say it back because it would made

me just go back if he did, so I hung up the phone."

Troy then hugged Gabriella and kissed her cheek, knowing that she wouldn't care even if it wasn't a time to be

hugging her and kissing her. "I love you," he whispered.

"Love you, too," Gabriella whispered back, hugging Troy. Then she let go of him and continued talking. "But I

was surprised when, on what would be my prom night, I was just at a spot I liked to go after my classes were done

for the day and saw Troy in a tree there. Yes, my Wildcat loves trees."

Everyone laughed.

"Then, when he was barely out of the tree, we were clinging to each other and I asked him what he was doing

all the way in California on prom night. And he said, 'My prom is wherever you are. If I'm going to have a last

dance before I graduate, it has to be with you.'" She started crying again at the memory.

"Do you want me to finish?" Troy asked Gabriella, putting one of arms around her as she nodded. She knew

she wouldn't be able to stop crying, even if she was talking in front of people because these were very special

and intense memories to her. "Alright," Troy said into the microphone, his arm still around Gabriella's shoulders.

"Then, after I told her that my prom was wherever she was, we danced and sang with each other. When we were

done that, we looked into each other's eyes and just stared at the love we saw there. It was the first time for either

of us being in love, and we were so happy. Then, we kissed each other. I told Gabriella I wanted her to come back

with me, and she agreed. So I drove back to East High, where our musical was going on. Gabriella and I got there

in time to be in it. Then, when that was over, it was time for graduation. I said that I wasn't going to the college I

was planning on, which was U of A, because I wanted to be close to Gabriella. I said that I had chosen theater as

well as basketball because I was going to Berkeley, which was close to Gabriella. When I looked at her, I could

see happy tears in her eyes as she looked at me with lots of love and affection. After graduation, me and all my

friends, and my Gabriella, who was a lot more than just my girlfriend then, went to my house for a party. I told

Gabriella I wanted her to come outside with me. Then, I took her up to my tree house and asked her if it was too

late to tell her 'I love you' back, since I didn't get to tell her on the phone. She said she would always love me, so

I told her I had a graduation present for her. I gave her an engagement ring, and when she opened it, I didn't even

have to ask her to marry me. Instead, she just kept saying yes and she was hugging me. So now, here we are

getting married."

As Troy finished, Gabriella said, "And I want to say something. Troy is so nice to me. Once, when I was sick,

he stayed home from college to take care of me. He made me soup and Jell-o and made sure I drank enough water

so I wouldn't get dehydrated. He would rest with me even if he wasn't tired because he knew I could sleep better if

he was next to me, and he would sit with me to keep me company. He got me throat drops and tissues and did

everything he could to make me feel better."

"And when I broke my ankle, Gabriella did everything for me. She would make all the meals and help me do

stuff and she made sure that I rested my ankle so that it would heal properly," Troy said.

Then, Brian came back over to them. He was allowed to officially marry people and Troy and Gabriella had

decided that he should be the one to officially marry them because he had gotten them together.

"Alright," Brian said. "Troy, Gabriella, are you ready to be married?"

Troy and Gabriella both nodded.

"Do you both promise to love each other and take care of each other no matter what happens as long as you

live?"

"I do," Troy said. He gave Gabriella her ring.

"I do," Gabriella said, wiping a few happy tears off her face as she gave Troy his ring.

"You may now kiss the bride."

Troy and Gabriella kissed each other passionately. This was it. They were married. Finally. When they finished

kissing, Troy wiped the tears that were now all over Gabriella's cheeks away with his fingers. "I love you," he said.

"I love you, too," Gabriella told Troy.

Everyone clapped.

Smiling, they both walked off of the karaoke stage and went to see their friends. The first person who came up

to Gabriella was her mom. "Gabriella," she said. "I'm sorry. I see that you and Troy really love each other and I'm

sorry for trying to ruin it."

"It's okay," Gabriella said. "Nothing could ruin it, anyway."

Troy kissed Gabriella's cheek. "Gabby, you know you're Gabriella Bolton now," he said.

Gabriella smiled and nodded. "And I love it," she said. "And I love you. More than anything."

"I love you, too," Troy said.

Troy and Gabriella knew that nothing could separate them ever and that they would never regret marrying each

other. This night really was the start of something new....again.

THE END

___________________________________________________________________________________________

**Alright, so that's it. The end of HSM5. There will be an HSM6 coming soon!**


End file.
